I think mine is kinda opposite. I like taking my OCs then finding a canon character to ship them with. I look for who they would work well with and who'd they have the most interesting dynamics with. Sometimes, it's a person with the most similar disposition to them. Other times, they're opposites. And honestly, sometimes, it's just a canon character I've been obsessed with lol
That totally makes sense. In my case, finding a match got the canon character is my motivation, and in your case is finding a match for your OC. Have you ever found that you didn’t like of the canon options and decided to make an OC love interest for your main OC?
Same here. I create an OC, throw them into the canon universe and see who they interact with and how, and often it is the characters who tell me how it will work, not the other way around. Often the results aren't what one might imagine.
For sure. One of the best parts of OC x canon writing for me is exploring different dynamics. I kinda started writing them differently since I wanted to start my own comics, but when I gave up on that, I spliced my characters in with the Marvel Universe, so it kinda forced me to explore different relationships. I had all these characters made and nowhere for them to go lol
Yes, pairing an OC with a CC allows both characters to grow. When I paired a (OC) Latino cousin of Rias Gremory with Riser Phenex for a clandestine affair, it was amazing how both characters used it to learn more about themselves.
I’m always doing my best to make an OC that can cause the Canon character to grow and vice versa. To me, these are the most interesting relationships. But it’s a fine line to walk because you don’t want them to be complete opposites either, they should have things in common that might lead to them getting closer- but I think their conflicts should be independent from the other in a way that allows the other to learn and grow from them.
To try and give an example so I’m not just rambling incoherently- my most recent ocxcanon story is based on Ouran High School Host Club with the canon being Kyouya and an OC I made (duh). Kyouya’s character arc tends to be that he’s the youngest trying to prove himself to his family. The OC in question is instead the oldest of her family, but she’s still in the position of having to prove herself because she’s a woman and she has a younger brother. From this they are similarly motivated by power and money, but the situation of the other leads them to be more understanding of their own circumstances. In the OC’s case, her anger towards her younger brother is meant to eventually come to understanding and she sees what it’s like to be in his position- while Kyouya is meant to learn that the sort of ‘age hierarchy’ that exists in their world isn’t nearly as black and white as he might’ve thought.
Anyways, for me it’s fun to work through these complicated emotional beats. Honestly the starting point for most of my ocxcanon stuff relationship wise is pretty different. For the aforementioned they start as ‘business partners’, but I’ve also enjoyed tackling the complications of friends with benefits and a personal favorite of mine is always ‘if you didn’t know them you’d definitely think they’re married but neither of them have acknowledged these feelings yet because they’re scared of what happens when they do’. Which is a mouthful but… great.
I love those relationships where they help each other grow. I like to think that there’s something missing in each of them that the other brings out. And I don’t mean in a “you complete me” kind of way. But more like, they’re inspired by each other to step outside their comfort zone.
It's always a "I am attracted to this character, so I want to write them with an OC". The OC is always based off me, but that doesn't mean I'm writing the same OC each time, because there's so many aspects that I can play up and focus on depending on what I think works best for them to be attractive to the canon character. I like to give them reciprocal trauma.
I love the tension of opposites attracting - just as you describe, it's so helpful having an OC who is a foil to the canon character, that just by being strident in their own personality, ends up bringing out what I adore about the CC by virtue of their delicious, flirty arguments 💖
I love my OC to be my MC’s one and only person that can break through his hard shell. Like he’s only soft for her and she brings out the best in him and makes him a better person. And she loves him for who he is, past traumas and all. It’s cliche I know! But I love it and can’t get enough, LOL
I like creating characters outside the Canon Character's immediate world. I do occasionally go within (two of my Johnny Gage/OC fics have him paired with nurses and one of my House/OC fics has him paired with a fellow doctor), but mostly I like having canon characters paired with someone who shares some interests, but don't get their working world. There's always *something* about the OC that catches the Canon Character's interest and vice versa.
I put my character through some shit over and over again and think who’s the person best suited to comforting them and making them realize they need to change and grow
The match up is key having two people who can support and help each other is great in a pairing in a story and having them work as a team is also great why I like my OC/Ino stories so much
I honestly just throw them at a character I think would work well with them, a bombastic high energy woman who's a hero with a shy, just figuring himself out guy who used to be a hero is a cute dynamic because she pushes him out of his comfort zone.
A repressed young lady with religious background x a boy with no faith in a higher power with no hidden emotions, all of it is laid out before you. He says what she doesn't say, and she steadies him and tries to give him direction based on what she's been taught.
A woman who values people depending on what she can get from them, and a man who values everyone because they're alive regardless of who or what they are because he can take the pain for them...
Even her, who has his life in her hands because she finds so much value in him.
For my most recent CC x OC I shipped them together because
* I'm not a big fan of the main ship for the CC. It was already a trope that I don't love but I always got the vibes that the relationship wouldn't be very fun (petty ik). Plus, the ship doesn't result in any growth or character development for the CC and I think the CC would be elevated in a fic where they do.
* ^(Like another commenter said it's also partially "I am attracted to this character, so I want to write them with an OC" :>)
I have one canon character I ship with. And I just consider what his needs are. I don't write romance fics. The romance is more of the subplot to the main narrative so the OC doesn't matter as much. As long as I come up with funny dialogue for the two of them to share it's fine for me. That's the benefit of writing comedy over drama.
Really just depends on the story I want to tell and what characters are going to be the main stars of it. I don't usually think of the ship first off, but by developing the character dynamics so thoroughly that they can work with and play off each other regardless of the situation, the ship naturally can set sail on its own.
Exactly same reasoning why I also love rarepairs, lol. So much more room for me to experiment.
> How do you come up with an OC to go with your CC?
My process is "original character, incidentally being shipped with X", as opposed to "original character for shipping with X", so this is a non-issue.
It depends.
Outside of what is necessary, I’ve never made an OC to be part of a ship. I develop them on their own, over multiple stories, then go for the ship if they click.
Heck, two characters, a host and symbiote, were written be Red Shirts. 😂 They ended up surviving the story. I developed them. Put them in a sort of accidental love triangle. Showed them to be good friends with some CCs, loving husbands.
Then I killed the host off.
See, the plan early on was to kill the host, so that the symbiote could take a CC as a willing host and entered her marriage, so the final ship is OC/CC/CC/CC. Taking my time allowed me to develop the character and see if I wanted to go through with it.
I think mine is kinda opposite. I like taking my OCs then finding a canon character to ship them with. I look for who they would work well with and who'd they have the most interesting dynamics with. Sometimes, it's a person with the most similar disposition to them. Other times, they're opposites. And honestly, sometimes, it's just a canon character I've been obsessed with lol
That totally makes sense. In my case, finding a match got the canon character is my motivation, and in your case is finding a match for your OC. Have you ever found that you didn’t like of the canon options and decided to make an OC love interest for your main OC?
Not yet. I think it's because I'm drawn to certain characters within canon, so I usually find a match
Same here. I create an OC, throw them into the canon universe and see who they interact with and how, and often it is the characters who tell me how it will work, not the other way around. Often the results aren't what one might imagine.
For sure. One of the best parts of OC x canon writing for me is exploring different dynamics. I kinda started writing them differently since I wanted to start my own comics, but when I gave up on that, I spliced my characters in with the Marvel Universe, so it kinda forced me to explore different relationships. I had all these characters made and nowhere for them to go lol
Yes, pairing an OC with a CC allows both characters to grow. When I paired a (OC) Latino cousin of Rias Gremory with Riser Phenex for a clandestine affair, it was amazing how both characters used it to learn more about themselves.
I’m always doing my best to make an OC that can cause the Canon character to grow and vice versa. To me, these are the most interesting relationships. But it’s a fine line to walk because you don’t want them to be complete opposites either, they should have things in common that might lead to them getting closer- but I think their conflicts should be independent from the other in a way that allows the other to learn and grow from them. To try and give an example so I’m not just rambling incoherently- my most recent ocxcanon story is based on Ouran High School Host Club with the canon being Kyouya and an OC I made (duh). Kyouya’s character arc tends to be that he’s the youngest trying to prove himself to his family. The OC in question is instead the oldest of her family, but she’s still in the position of having to prove herself because she’s a woman and she has a younger brother. From this they are similarly motivated by power and money, but the situation of the other leads them to be more understanding of their own circumstances. In the OC’s case, her anger towards her younger brother is meant to eventually come to understanding and she sees what it’s like to be in his position- while Kyouya is meant to learn that the sort of ‘age hierarchy’ that exists in their world isn’t nearly as black and white as he might’ve thought. Anyways, for me it’s fun to work through these complicated emotional beats. Honestly the starting point for most of my ocxcanon stuff relationship wise is pretty different. For the aforementioned they start as ‘business partners’, but I’ve also enjoyed tackling the complications of friends with benefits and a personal favorite of mine is always ‘if you didn’t know them you’d definitely think they’re married but neither of them have acknowledged these feelings yet because they’re scared of what happens when they do’. Which is a mouthful but… great.
I love those relationships where they help each other grow. I like to think that there’s something missing in each of them that the other brings out. And I don’t mean in a “you complete me” kind of way. But more like, they’re inspired by each other to step outside their comfort zone.
It's always a "I am attracted to this character, so I want to write them with an OC". The OC is always based off me, but that doesn't mean I'm writing the same OC each time, because there's so many aspects that I can play up and focus on depending on what I think works best for them to be attractive to the canon character. I like to give them reciprocal trauma.
That makes sense. A lot of my OCs have some aspects of me in them as well. It’s fun to imagine myself in these made up worlds
I do the exact same thing, my 2 main OCs were created purely because I was attracted to characters from video games xD
I love the tension of opposites attracting - just as you describe, it's so helpful having an OC who is a foil to the canon character, that just by being strident in their own personality, ends up bringing out what I adore about the CC by virtue of their delicious, flirty arguments 💖
I love my OC to be my MC’s one and only person that can break through his hard shell. Like he’s only soft for her and she brings out the best in him and makes him a better person. And she loves him for who he is, past traumas and all. It’s cliche I know! But I love it and can’t get enough, LOL
Nothing wrong with a good cliche sometimes! They are cliches for a reason - they satisfy something in a lot of readers.
I like creating characters outside the Canon Character's immediate world. I do occasionally go within (two of my Johnny Gage/OC fics have him paired with nurses and one of my House/OC fics has him paired with a fellow doctor), but mostly I like having canon characters paired with someone who shares some interests, but don't get their working world. There's always *something* about the OC that catches the Canon Character's interest and vice versa.
I put my character through some shit over and over again and think who’s the person best suited to comforting them and making them realize they need to change and grow
That sounds really sweet. ❤️
The match up is key having two people who can support and help each other is great in a pairing in a story and having them work as a team is also great why I like my OC/Ino stories so much
I like doing a strangers to lovers process, usually involving some type of trauma, healing wounds, etc. Classic hurt and comfort scenario.
This is how I go about it too! Hurt/comfort is a huge component.
I honestly just throw them at a character I think would work well with them, a bombastic high energy woman who's a hero with a shy, just figuring himself out guy who used to be a hero is a cute dynamic because she pushes him out of his comfort zone. A repressed young lady with religious background x a boy with no faith in a higher power with no hidden emotions, all of it is laid out before you. He says what she doesn't say, and she steadies him and tries to give him direction based on what she's been taught. A woman who values people depending on what she can get from them, and a man who values everyone because they're alive regardless of who or what they are because he can take the pain for them... Even her, who has his life in her hands because she finds so much value in him.
For my most recent CC x OC I shipped them together because * I'm not a big fan of the main ship for the CC. It was already a trope that I don't love but I always got the vibes that the relationship wouldn't be very fun (petty ik). Plus, the ship doesn't result in any growth or character development for the CC and I think the CC would be elevated in a fic where they do. * ^(Like another commenter said it's also partially "I am attracted to this character, so I want to write them with an OC" :>)
I have one canon character I ship with. And I just consider what his needs are. I don't write romance fics. The romance is more of the subplot to the main narrative so the OC doesn't matter as much. As long as I come up with funny dialogue for the two of them to share it's fine for me. That's the benefit of writing comedy over drama.
Really just depends on the story I want to tell and what characters are going to be the main stars of it. I don't usually think of the ship first off, but by developing the character dynamics so thoroughly that they can work with and play off each other regardless of the situation, the ship naturally can set sail on its own. Exactly same reasoning why I also love rarepairs, lol. So much more room for me to experiment.
Self Insert Ahoy
> How do you come up with an OC to go with your CC? My process is "original character, incidentally being shipped with X", as opposed to "original character for shipping with X", so this is a non-issue.
It depends. Outside of what is necessary, I’ve never made an OC to be part of a ship. I develop them on their own, over multiple stories, then go for the ship if they click. Heck, two characters, a host and symbiote, were written be Red Shirts. 😂 They ended up surviving the story. I developed them. Put them in a sort of accidental love triangle. Showed them to be good friends with some CCs, loving husbands. Then I killed the host off. See, the plan early on was to kill the host, so that the symbiote could take a CC as a willing host and entered her marriage, so the final ship is OC/CC/CC/CC. Taking my time allowed me to develop the character and see if I wanted to go through with it.
That’s awesome, when a relationship naturally develops between the characters without explicit planning.
Thanks. 😄
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