Original character

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An original character, or OC, is a character created by a fanfic author or roleplayer for an established canon storyline. For instance, if someone were to write a story set in Tolkien's Middle-earth, but focused on a person who was not in the original novels, the new character would be an OC.

Alternatively, this term can be applied to a character created for an original universe.

Subspecies of OC include:
-OFCs, original female characters,
-OMCs, original male characters,
-OW, Original weapons
-OST, Original Stages and Towns etc.

-Mary Sues/Gary Stus, which are author insertions into the story that outshine the canon characters. These "canons" are the characters that appear in the original work.

Popular types of OCs include:

-Long-lost family members. This is a point of contention between some fanfiction writers, particularly in fandoms like The Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, where it is believed that important family members- especially siblings [often twin]- would have been introduced in the canon series, and thus must be labeled AU (Alternate Universe), because there is no mention of them in the book/movie/game/etc. Children can be included in this section, provided that the canon character was not aware, or did not mention, of any offspring they might have had. OC children are often introduced in order to spark a romance between two of the main characters, or to interfere with them on their quest/mission.

Also included are children who are illegitimate, and 'discovered' later by their half-siblings.

-Lovers from the past. This is usually only given to characters who are adults in the canon series, either to give the adult a child they never knew about, or to introduce an entirely new character for the canon character to romance. Alternatively, they sometimes appear to stir up trouble.

-Exchange students. In the Harry Potter fandom, it's not unusual for a student from another school [oftentimes Beauxbatons, a school mentioned in Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, where the character Fleur Delacour attended] or a school in America, ends up having to transfer to Hogwarts. Popular reasoning includes a parent being transferred to the British Ministry or Magic, or the character [generally female] being moved for safety reasons.

Additionally, OC is used in some fandoms as Other Character, a person/being who has been introduced or mentioned in the series, but is not a major player in canon. Sometimes these characters have one or two speaking lines and occasionally interact with the major characters such as Blaise Zabini and Susan Bones in Harry Potter, or Jobal Naberrie from Star Wars. Other times, they're merely people mentioned in passing, like a relative or co-worker, who we never see but we know exists. It can also mean a family member we know exists, such as a grandparent, but that has no name.

When a fan character is created it can be created from a real character on a serie