Experiences oc x canon

[lychee]

how do you guys feel about roleplays that focus on an original character being shipped with a canon character of a series?

personally, i find them to be annoying and one sided. even with doubling, it always feels like i'm putting more effort in than i'm receiving.
i don't think i've ever done a roleplay where i played a canon character for somebody's oc that i actually enjoyed.

what about you guys? tell me about your experiences.​

 

[Idea]

I've always found that roleplays involving playing cannon characters at all, with the exception of key cannon characters to the plot in group Rps (say, Kyubey for a Madoka Magika group RP) is not something I could go along with. It always felt unoriginal, draining and quite frankly that it would just butcher beloved characters that pulling them out of character.

Cannon X OC I feel at least has a bit more purpose, because you don't need to break the character to add something, but either way it always ends up feeling like the other player either wants to fanboy/fangirl about their favorite character at the expense of whatever character I come up with or they want me to help me fulfill their fantasies with their OC by playing them with their ship or because they want to lord the OC's superiority... While I doubt most players who do play OC x Cannon actually are like that, not only is there the risk, but reason why that risk exists (That the specific character or the OC are supposedly a point in of themselves, at my expense) combined with my already troubled feelings against taking the characters in general, and it ends up as really not for me.

 

[hologram]

I pretty much exclusively do Canon x OC roleplays. I couldn't really tell you how it ended up that way, to be honest. I love playing canon characters and I guess I feel like the addition of OCs to the mix creates interesting opportunities to flesh out the setting, story, and characters of whatever fandom I get involved with. I've definitely had my share of bad experiences but I feel like the issues I've had over the years weren't really because of the Canon x OC format.

I think my approach to RP is a little bit different, though. I usually can only do RP in very few fandoms that I'm really interested in at the moment and use RP as a way to immerse myself in that fandom. If I'm not feeling it 100%, I lose interest very quickly. What holds my interest the most is fandom RPs with a mixture of canon characters and OCs. I don't even do non-fandom RP because at this point RP and fandom are inextricably linked in my mind.

I won't lie and say there isn't any self indulgence involved in the equation because there definitely is. But I don't think that's anything to be ashamed of, especially if my partner is into it for the same reasons as I am.

 

[Onmyoji]

I think that like many other thing is RP, experiences with Canon x OC mainly depend on the players involved and they way the set up the story.

I played some Canon x OC with various outcomes. In such cases I played Canon characters. And I personally consider such rps as 'spin-off' to canon. Like, if your rp is based on anime series, then it's akin to a non-canon movie xD where Canon characters can interact with OCs without much trouble.

And while I'm not a big fan of Canon x OC setups, they still can be fun and interesting, if the OC is kept within boundaries and isn't too much canon-breaking. This, I believe, is the main problem of OC in general, but when you co Canon x OC it usually stands out the most. But that, I as stated earlier, depens on the payers, not on the format itself.
In the end, fandom RP are all a kind of fanservice, when you want to indulge in enhancing fandom experience xD

 

[kevintheradioguy]

So, time to share this amazing story of mine!

Theoretically, I do not play them. I had a few bad experiences, when I took an OC (I must tell that I am unfamiliar with most popular universes, and do not know the canon characters, so take oblivious OCs), and my partner took a canon character, and they acted absolutely crazy, forcing my OC to decide "You know what? I'm not dealing with this shit!" and whether attempt at murder, if it's an evil OC, or turn around and go away, if it's a good OC. Which made partners furious: "I.rolaplay.according.to.character's.personality!", however, what can I do if I do that too? If your canon character is a dangerous psychopath you make him out to be, I'll be doing something about it, and not just shrug it off. And I doubt they really are - I just think you try to Mary Sue.
Those universes I do know, however, I still prefer to play someone else than a canon, since for me, playing a canon is: a) disrespectful to the creator; b) I don't think I can make them good - I played a few times the villain from the only anime series I saw, and although layers loved it (this was the first time in my life I literally got an e-mail from the player, saying that it was cool, and they would like me back into the role after I left the game due to other players inactivity), he wasn't quite what the original writer made him up to be - I added a bit too much of psychoanalisis to him, making a more understandable villain.
Occasionally I refuse such games, such as, o one website someone approached asking for erotica RP with Taako and my D&D character, and I just cannot do that. Taako was created by another person, and unless it's them who's asking for this kind of game, I am not up for that.

Anyway, my last experience, was a mish-mash of universes, and I doubted it'll work, it's just the girl who asked for it was so insistent, I thought: okay, she'll be like every other girl here - play for a week, and poof, or blame me for not liking her character enough and walk away, blacklisting me. I've got a lot of those. However, she did not do either of those things.
She plays as Clover from 'Totaly Spies', transferred into a medieval fantasy, where I play my original goblin smuggler/revolutionary, and they get captured by pirates and locked up together, and need to get out and save my goblin's very important cargo. Pretty crazy, right? However, being true to the character, she also plays really well, really consistent, and makes the game interesting. She expects some romance to pop up, and, due to my character being a sort of reptilian, he does not find busty humans attractive, and generally thinks they look like big mushy fish, which does not turn her off, and she is looking forward for character's relationship development when he stops seeing her as a mushy fish, and she stops seeing him as a lizardmonkey.
That being said, I am really enjoying the game, even though it's very slow, and posts are made once every few weeks. She does her character good, she transferred it believably, and the game is enjoyable.

So... it would depend if you're lucky enough. I, personally, avoid any canons to play with for the reasons I named in the first part; however, my own experience says I might be overthinking it, and some people can pull this through amazingly.

 

[Play On Words]

I personally will never join a roleplay with a canon character, my limit is using the settings and lore. The characters will never be a part of a roleplay I’m in, solely because I’m picky, it’ll never really feel like that character is supposed to, and it feels like stealing someone else’s character.

I will usually not roleplay with someone who has this huge list of fandom pairings and it’s ALWAYS their OC x canon, no offer to double or anything, even if the roleplay I’d be interested in is an original. To me, it feels rude. They get to invent a new character, use one of their own design, while the other schmuck is stuck trying to impersonate someone else’s writing(I know some people enjoy it, this is just my viewpoint). I’ll never play a canon character. To those who can do it well, kudos, it’s just something I’ll firmly avoid.

 

[rae2nerdy]

I just think pairing based romance in general is kind of offputting. I don't want to do a roleplay where my partner already has an invisible checklist of every aspect of the roleplay. And my role is to just check off boxes for their fantasy to come to life.

But that's just me.

 

[Tolkien-fics]

I personally don’t like roleplaying canon x canon. It goes both ways, I don’t like the non canon pairings.

I find roleplaying oc x canon is better. I don’t fangirl over the canon characters, I simply pair them according to if they suit my OC. In other roleplays off this site, I’ve not had them be romantic.

 

[Sibelle Grey]

I can't roleplay a character someone else has written no matter how much I love said character. I'd be anxious about playing them wrong.
I can't play with beloved canon characters either, because I don't want to deal with a situation in which my partner plays something and I'm like " . . . Harry would never say that in my opinion". It would bother me to no end.
Basically, I can read fanmade content about a character but I can't participate in writing it, unless it's a character the original verse hasn't established much about, and I find that many people like to rp main characters anyway. I'm so much more comfortable when everyone plays a character they came up with. I don't want to roleplay with someone's personal version of a character I love, it just feels wrong.

 

[sad boy]

Haven't read through the other posts yet but...
absolutely will not do them. Either it's going to
be canon x canon or oc x oc. I hate 99.999% of
everyone's oc, tbh.​

 

[lychee]

I hate 99.999% of
everyone's oc, tbh.​

Meeeeeeeee. I'm vvv picky with original characters.

 

[sad boy]

Meeeeeeeee. I'm vvv picky with original characters.

I really don't think I've ever seen an OC for
a fandom that just didn't scream Mary sue
in some fashion.

Especially if they're wanting their OC with
a character who's already in an established
canon relationship.​

 

[Ultimate Plant]

I love Canon X OC pairings!
Not just because i have quite a bit on my own but because I really love to see all the different OCs and creative ideas everyone comes up with!
I think i only draw the line when the OC effects a canon character in some ways, personality wise or completely disregarding all the terrible things the character has done in canon.
It can be annoying when the person playing the OC depends more on the person playing the canon character when its a good chance that the person playing the OC was the one asking to RP in the first place
RPs with canon X ocs with already established feelings are kinda bad, ill be honest. If there's gonna be a canon X oc pairing there's gotta be some kind of build up to how their relationship works. I think it's easier especially with games that you already get to create the main character
Some canon characters just mean alot to people and i think thats okay! It may not be everyone's cup of tea but as long as you're not a jerk about it/force someone to RP something they don't want to do
Like em or not, thats up to you!

 

[hologram]

RPs with canon X ocs with already established feelings are kinda bad, ill be honest. If there's gonna be a canon X oc pairing there's gotta be some kind of build up to how their relationship works.

I have had...varying success with pre-established relationship in Canon x OC roleplay. I think I do better with established relationships in romantic situations when the characters already know each other but haven't fallen in love or confessed their feelings yet. But I discovered the hard way if the characters have been in love for a long time I just have no idea where to start and can't get invested in the relationship. I have to get to know my partner's OC while figuring out what kind of relationship the two characters already have. Plus you have to deal with the partner coming into the RP with expectations of what they think the relationship was like pre-RP. It turned out during the RP where I discovered it didn't work well for me, that what my partner wanted was just something I couldn't see happening between their OC and my canon character at all.

I think I could do it if I was doing it with a partner I knew well and had done some RPs with in the past, or if I already know what their OC is like from seeing them in action, but when I'm just getting to know a partner I do not do well with it.

 

[Ultimate Plant]

aaaaa i understand. I really praise the people that really try to RP with OCs and look into the OC if there's more about them available to them.
I haven't had much of a problem of having expectations for the canon character but i have had people stop our OC X Canon RPs when i RP the canon character and i've always just guessed i wasn't too good at the character i was playing.
Eh there's pros and cons, It's not necessarily good or necessarily bad. But you do make a good point

 

[hologram]

aaaaa i understand. I really praise the people that really try to RP with OCs and look into the OC if there's more about them available to them.
I haven't had much of a problem of having expectations for the canon character but i have had people stop our OC X Canon RPs when i RP the canon character and i've always just guessed i wasn't too good at the character i was playing.
Eh there's pros and cons, It's not necessarily good or necessarily bad. But you do make a good point

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely love doing Canon x OC and getting to know my partner's OC. I just find I do romantic relationships better when I get to build up to the relationship occuring because figuring out what sort of relationship these two characters would have while also getting to know the OC can be difficult, especially if the partner comes with expectations about how the relationship itself progressed before the start of the RP. So lately I have a disclaimer like "if you want to do an already established romantic relationship I might not be able to do it for you".

 

[Ultimate Plant]

Yea! i get what you mean, I probably went off topic there, but yea thats a completely understandable reason! Bless your soul for being accepting to peoples OC ships UuU

 

[Tove]

I don't like it nor will I do it because out my experiences nine times out of ten playing canon x oc is strictly for romantic purposes. I'm stuck playing out someone's fantasy canon character while they enjoy the ride. I personally dislike it because no matter how much you read manga, watch anime episodes, have dialogue of the canon character down that's still someone else's character-they know them because they created them.

 

[Politely Nefarious]

In personal experience, it depends on the partner.

The first thing to look for is what is required. A partner who wants 'that specific character' to pair with their OC can be a red flag. If you can, check out their other posts. Maybe you'll like their writing style. Maybe they put thought into their characters. But nine times out of ten, they're more focused on their personal fantasies than a proper plot or good development.

If they're interested in world-building, that can be a good sign. One of the best canon-OC stories I ever took on was a Bionicle tale, set on an island we created. We included the canon relationships, and stuck to its backbone while we introduced new concepts. OCs interacted with OCs. Canons interacted with OCs. Everyone was intermingled, and meshed in one environment. We'd decide ahead of time who would take what role. If one of us had a strong idea for a scene, we asked the other to give us room to write it. Not only did we cover four generations of Toa; we had side characters, villains, chaotic neutrals, and a world full of citizens as well. It never became biased; we could have five plots going at once. Balancing out all the characters prevented favoritism when their stories inter-connected.

Multi-plots are a great way to combat mindless pandering fluff. And they keep both parties invested.

Still, your greatest factor is research. If you can't see their posts, ask them for a profile of the OC. A sample of their writing. OC/Canon RP doesn't have to be terrible. It doesn't have to be romantic, novelesque, or world-shattering. But it can get obnoxious fast if both partners are seeking different objectives.

 

[FlyingDemon]

how do you guys feel about roleplays that focus on an original character being shipped with a canon character of a series?

personally, i find them to be annoying and one sided. even with doubling, it always feels like i'm putting more effort in than i'm receiving.
i don't think i've ever done a roleplay where i played a canon character for somebody's oc that i actually enjoyed.

what about you guys? tell me about your experiences.​

I loathe this genre, the OC is:
-related to the canon,
-attracted to the canon,

so there is little to no efforts, the OC is oftenly praised for a thing that the canon does in the verse, or everyone are "suddenly" friends with them.. also... how an OC can be praised so much by other characters? there is canon who does a lot in their own verses.

Honestly, i always try to stay true to a verse with a role of a canon, i was always- always the one who putting an effort into it. I never change their sexuality for exemple, it's not respectfull for the creators, even if it's about marchandises or profits..

So now, it can be without me.. When one create an OC, it's important to:

-draw their design, google images doesn't help and it's always the same kind of pictures..
-write the bio, let their characters be flawed, actually help the canon, isn't spoiled.. you know, a decent character.

and for damn sakes, no forced attraction, be informed about the canon orientation, it's sincerely annoying.

So, unless if the partner is a friend, i won't really bother with OCs, never met a decent one, always forced no matter what i say.


Also finally, i am finally able to say it.

Edit: also, sorry for passing as an intolerant person, but believe me, i have been spammed a lot with that and it's almost impossible do have something decent.

 

[Stray Cat]

I, myself have noticed in recent years during my search for roleplay that canonxoc was something frowned upon. I couldn’t say why that was, at least until now, reading some these answers has given me some insight. I personally have and continue to engage in canonxoc. While, I do enjoy romance within my stories, I don’t like it to be the main focus or the only focus. I like multiple genres present, as well as world building, and story arcs. I see canonxoc as a treat for both parties, not only are you engaging in this world as a character of your creation, but also the occupants of this world. And perhaps there is the chance that you fancy one? I feel like that’s like the cherry on the sundae when it comes to fandom roleplays. After all, isn’t roleplay not about escapism? Wanting to escape the real world for a bit and enjoy oneself? Anyway, that’s just my take.​

 

[Im_just_here]

With my experience, I personally dont like roleplaying with OCs.
Every time I roleplay canon x oc, I always end up doing most of the work, and the other person never really adds to the story.
I feel like they always expect me to come up with the next plot point. I dont want to always be the one to move the story along.
It's annoying and I never get to enjoy myself.

 

[Otaku_Girl]

Combining OC with cannon always feels more like a marysue fantasy rather than an equal, fun to explore role play. It also feels oddly restrictive, as one of you has the freedom to create but the other is bound by the relatively strict cannon rules/outlines that make that character who they are.

 

[apolla]

I absolutely adore oc x canon.

Though I don't really mind canon x canon or oc x oc, I'd have to say oc x canon is my fave. Something about creating your own character to fit into the preexisting fandom is alot of fun! And yeah, maybe there's some fantasy wish fulfillment going on there, but what's the harm in that? Most, if not all, of roleplaying is fantasy anyway, meaning it's not real. It's something you make up to escape the real world for a while. *shrug*

It makes me sad, really, to see how some people can ruin it, though. Terrible quality characters or writing can really take something good and make it bad. I like to think I'm a pretty decent writer/RPer, but alot of people wouldn't even give me a chance bc of bad past experiences. And to a degree I understand why, I've had bad experiences myself, but on the other hand it just kinda sucks.

 

[Cactus22]

I avoid fandom rps in general because I feel like one person is always being shoved into a box while the other is welcome to develop their character at will. I usually get bored with them.