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Original character

An example of an original character ponysona design inspired by My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic

An original character (OC) typically refers to a type of fictional character created by someone that is not affiliated with a company, or by a member of a fandom. They are a non-canonical character created by the author of fan fiction, a fan artist, or creator of another fan work, who exists within a certain fictional universe and may interact with existing characters or locations.[1][2][3][4][5] The term can also be used in a wider sense to refer to any fictional character.[6] Acronyms can also be gender-specific, like OMC (original male character) and OFC (original female character).[7][5]

Overview

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OCs are used in various subcultures including the Star Wars fandom, the Harry Potter fandom,[1], and the Sonic the Hedgehog fandom. Takashi Iizuka mentioned that the character customization system in Sonic Forces was influenced by the Sonic community's tendency to create original characters;[8] tools for creating Sonic OCs exist on sites like Newgrounds.[9] Cosplayers create original 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 has been used in the furry fandom.[12] A majority of furries have a fursona,[13] defined as a personally claimed persona resembling an anthropomorphic animal.[14][15] According to a 2020 survey in The New Science of Narcissism, 95% of furries have a fursona.[16]: 180  Some members of the My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic fandom uses pony OCs as personas called ponysonas.[17] According to researchers studying the fandom, 39% of bronies have a ponysona. 46% of bronies reported having an original character, and their ponysona was among the first original characters they created.[18]

OCs can serve as protagonists[1] or as minor characters in a story.[19] A writer may add another author's OC into their own work.[20] 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 debate online over whether writers should write about their OCs in situations in which they suffer.[6]

See also

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References

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Footnotes

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  1. ^ a b c d Vicente, Vann (2021-11-14). "What Does "OC" Mean, and How Do You Use It?". How-To Geek. Retrieved 2024-06-02.
  2. ^ Whitehead 2018, p. 73.
  3. ^ Barner 2017, p. 188.
  4. ^ Franceschi 2017, p. 81.
  5. ^ a b Carson, C. (2017). "What is fanfiction and where to find it: Definitions and fan archives". Beyond the Book:fanfiction. S2CID 63070065.
  6. ^ 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.
  7. ^ Richard, Moriah (2022-06-25). "What Is Fan Fiction in Writing?". Writer's Digest. Retrieved 2024-06-12.
  8. ^ 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.
  9. ^ Feldman, Brian (2020-02-14). "The Staff of New York Shows Off Its Sonic OCs". Intelligencer. Retrieved 2024-06-04.
  10. ^ Winge 2018, pp. 118–119.
  11. ^ Crawford 2019, p. 173.
  12. ^ Adams 2023, p. 101.
  13. ^ Reysen 2021, p. 96.
  14. ^ "Words We're Watching: 'Furry' and 'Fursona'". Merriam-Webster. Retrieved 2021-06-30.
  15. ^ "Definition of FURSONA". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2024-03-31.
  16. ^ Campbell, W. Keith; Crist, Carolyn (2020-09-29). The New Science of Narcissism: Understanding One of the Greatest Psychological Challenges of Our Time—and What You Can Do About It. Sounds True. ISBN 978-1-68364-403-3.
  17. ^ Alexandratos 2017, p. 67-68.
  18. ^ Kosnáč, Pavol (2016). Fiction, Invention and Hyper-reality: From Popular Culture to Religion. Taylor & Francis. pp. 79–97. ISBN 9781317135494.
  19. ^ Schott 2023, p. 49.
  20. ^ Black 2008, p. 40.

Bibliography

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