What Does MC Mean?
AbbreviationShort for 'main character.' Fans use it to refer to a story's protagonist, and in some fandoms — especially games and visual novels — to a customizable player character.
MC in Practice
In general writing discussion, MC is simple shorthand for whoever a fic centers on. In otome game, visual novel, and some webtoon fandoms it takes on a more specific meaning: the unnamed or player-named protagonist that the audience controls, who functions like a built-in reader insert. Fic for those fandoms often tags the character literally as 'MC' and may give them a fan-chosen name or keep them deliberately blank. Context usually makes clear which sense is intended.
Example usage
"The fic follows the villain's POV, but the MC from the game still steals every scene she's in."
Related Terms
POV (Point of View)
The perspective a story is told from — which character's head the reader occupies. Fic headers and tags routinely specify POV because it shapes the entire reading experience.
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Y/N
'Your Name' — the placeholder used in reader-insert fic where the reader's own name should go. The most recognizable artifact of the x-reader genre, and a meme in its own right.
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Reader Insert
Fic written so the reader is the protagonist, typically in second person ('you') with Y/N standing in for your name. The character of 'Reader' even gets their own AO3 relationship tags.
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OC (Original Character)
A character invented by the fan author rather than taken from canon. OCs range from background extras who fill out a scene to fully realized protagonists.
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