What Does OC (Original Character) Mean?
AbbreviationA 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.
OC (Original Character) in Practice
Original characters are where fanfiction shades into original fiction: the world is borrowed, but the person moving through it is the author's own. Fandom's relationship with OCs has run hot and cold — the Mary Sue panic of earlier decades made many readers reflexively wary of them, and 'OC-heavy' remains a filterable warning for some — but well-drawn OCs have devoted followings, and entire genres like next-gen fic depend on them. AO3 provides standard tags like 'Original Female Character(s)' so readers can seek out or skip them. Writing a good OC is widely treated as a graduation exercise in craft.
Example usage
"I came for the canon ship and stayed for the author's OC, who deserves her own spinoff series."
Related Terms
OFC (Original Female Character)
An original female character created by the fic author. On AO3 it appears in standardized character tags and in pairing tags like 'Canon Character/OFC.'
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OMC (Original Male Character)
An original male character invented by the fic author, the male counterpart to OFC. The tag shows up in character lists and in pairings like 'Canon Character/OMC.'
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Mary Sue / Gary Stu
A derogatory label for an original character — or an overhauled canon character — who is implausibly perfect: universally adored, effortlessly skilled, and central to every plot. Gary Stu (or Marty Stu) is the male equivalent.
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Self-Insert
A fic where the author writes a version of themselves into the story's world, interacting with canon characters. Sometimes thinly disguised as an OC; sometimes proudly undisguised.
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