Original Character

Character (or OC) is a new character created in a fanfiction or other fanwork that does not come from an existing copyright. There is a fair amount of fanfiction that makes use of these, ranging in importance from being background extras and flavor in a larger story to sometimes stealing the spotlight of the canonical characters. They have been a constant since the community's earliest days, but rise and decline in popularity based on trends. Today, they tend to prosper more in the Fanart side of the community.

Original characters are often controversial, as most people read fanfiction to see the canon characters and some may feel cheated if they are presented with a story involves characters who were not part of the original canon. Many poorer original character stories often downplay or change key canonical characters to fit the original character, but this is not always the case and they can have a positive impact if written well.

An original characters who is overly perfect or bends the plot to their will and demands is often properly called a Mary Sue, as these are often considered signs of poor writing on the author's part, but the term is often used to disparage any original character if seen fit.

Common types of fanfics featuring original characters include the Original Character Story, where users sign up their own original characters for one author's work, Stick Fics, where they re-neact the South Park video game, or the most common, New Kid fics, where the original character is a new kid at South Park and gets to know other characters.