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Comment: It would be very helpful to readers if the bibliography were instead formatted as intext references, so it is clear which parts of the article the books were used for. -- NotCharizard 🗨 08:46, 4 September 2024 (UTC)
An original character (OC) is a type of character. The definition and function of an OC depends on the context.
The concept of OC is mainly applied to fandoms. In some fandoms, they play an essential role, with some people using their OCs as personas.
Anyone can create an OC.
Definitions and Terminology
[edit]The term original character varies in meaning.
It can refer to a character that was created by a fan.[1] In fan fiction, it is usually defined as a non-canonical character created by the author.[2][3][4][5] An original character can also be used to refer to any fictional character.[6]
OC is used as an acronym for the term original character.[5][1] There are also gender-specific acronyms like OMC (acronym for original male character) and OFC (acronym for original female character).[7][5]
(The remainder of the article will go by the acronyms to prevent it from being unnecessarily long and keeping it consistency.)
By subculture
[edit]OCs are used in various subcultures including the Star Wars fandom, Harry Potter fandom,[1] and other subcultures.
OCs play a big part in the Sonic fandom. There are character-designing tools on sites like Newgrounds where fans can create their own sonic OC.[8] Takashi Iizuka mentioned the character customization system in Sonic Forces was influenced by the Sonic community's tendency to create such characters.[9]
Cosplayers create these characters based on their imaginations, fan fiction, and other works.[10] For cosplayers, OCs can give them a larger range of choices of characters to cosplay as.[11]
OCs are also used in the furry fandom.[12] A majority of furries have a type of OC called a fursona.[13] A fursona is defined as a personally claimed persona resembling an anthropomorphic animal adopted by a member of the subculture.[14][15] Some members of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom also use My Little Pony OCs as personas.[16]
In fan fiction
[edit]OCs can serve as protagonists[1] or as minor characters in a story.[17] A writer may add another author's OC into their own work.[18]
An OC can provide a different point of view to a fictional universe; for instance, a fan fiction author can create an OC that is a student at one of Hogwarts’ rival schools.[1] There has been some debates online whether or not writers should make their OCs suffer or not.[6]
References
[edit]Footnotes
[edit]- ^ a b c d e Vicente, Vann (2021-11-14). "What Does "OC" Mean, and How Do You Use It?". How-To Geek. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
- ^ Whitehead 2018, p. 73.
- ^ Barner 2017, p. 188.
- ^ Franceschi 2017, p. 81.
- ^ a b c Carson, C. (2017). "What is fanfiction and where to find it: Definitions and fan archives". Beyond the Book:fanfiction. S2CID 63070065.
- ^ a b Carpou, Madeline (2022-05-27). "Should You Be Allowed to Make Your OC Suffer? Twitter Debates a Controversial Tumblr Ask". The Mary Sue. Retrieved 2024-06-06.
- ^ Richard, Moriah (2022-06-25). "What Is Fan Fiction in Writing?". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
- ^ Feldman, Brian (2020-02-14). "The Staff of New York Shows Off Its Sonic OCs". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
- ^ Frank, Allegra (September 25, 2017). "Sonic Forces' Custom Hero mode might not be the wish fulfillment you want". Polygon. Archived from the original on December 27, 2019.
- ^ Winge 2018, pp. 118–119.
- ^ Crawford 2019, p. 173.
- ^ Adams 2023, p. 101.
- ^ Reysen 2021, p. 96.
- ^ "Words We're Watching: 'Furry' and 'Fursona'". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
- ^ "Definition of FURSONA". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
- ^ Alexandratos 2017, p. 67-68.
- ^ Schott 2023, p. 49.
- ^ Black 2008, p. 40.
Bibliography
[edit]Whitehead, Carrie (June 15, 2018), Teen Fandom and Geek Programming:A Practical Guide for Librarians, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, ISBN 9781538107539
Winge, Therèsa (November 2018), Costuming Cosplay:Dressing the Imagination, Bloomsbury Publishing, ISBN 9781350035928
Crawford, Garry (June 4, 2019), Cosplay and the Art of Play:Exploring Sub-Culture Through Art, Springer International Publishing, ISBN 978-3-030-15966-5
Alexandratos, Jonathan (March 31, 2017), Articulating the Action Figure: Essays on the Toys and Their Messages, McFarland & Company, ISBN 978-1-4766-6427-9
Barner, Ashley (October 31, 2017), The Case for Fanfiction:Exploring the Pleasures and Practices of a Maligned Craft, McFarland, ISBN 9781476668772
Schott, Christine (January 30, 2023), Canon Fanfiction:Reading, Writing, and Teaching with Adaptations of Premodern and Early Modern Literature, Walter de Gruyter GmbH & Co KG, ISBN 9781501515989
Franceschi, Valeria (June 20, 2017), Exploring Plurilingualism in Fan Fiction:ELF Users as Creative Writers, Cambridge Scholars, ISBN 9781443896085
Black, Rebecca (2008), Adolescents and Online Fan Fiction, Peter Lang, ISBN 9780820497389
Adams, Camielle (December 8, 2023), Furscience: A Decade of Psychological Research on the Furry Fandom, Stephen Reysen, ISBN 9780997628838
Reysen, Stephen (April 19, 2021), Transported to Another World:The Psychology of Anime Fans, Stephen Reysen, ISBN 978-0-9976288-1-4