OC (Original Character)
The term Original Character, usually abreviated as OC, is used to refer a Character thas was created originally by an individual and not by a franchise for roleplay and overall storytelling purposes. These characters can be created as a part of a existing franchise universe or they can be totally independent and belong to their own universe/narrative, depending on their author choices.
Etymology and Origin
"Original Character" (OC) is an originated term since internet early days in varied creative communities. The abbreviation "OC" gained popularity in the late 1990s and early 2000s in different forums, fan fiction, and the whole roleplaying community. This serves as a distinctive appelative for specifiic characters that resembles creativity and originality as their own name mentions.
Popular Culture
From forums to social media, Original Characters have found their diffusion and so-called home in sites like DeviantArt, Tumblr, TikTok, and Discord, where their creators can get together and showcase any form of art refferred to their creations and share their ideas. Communities dedicated to roleplay and specific fandom communities are often the most crowded sites where you can find people who are enthusiasts for this kind of creations. Also, some trends and usual online practices have helped this niche to grow, with trends like "style exchange" for visual artists, and OC cosplay trends in TikTok have helped the OC community grow wider over the years.
Key Pop Culture Moments:
- Sonic The Hedhog fandom created a considerable number of OCs in the early 2000s on forums and DeviantArt.
- The "Draw This in Your Style" challenge and the usual "Drawing Exchange" , where artists reinterpret OCs in their unique styles.
- OC-focused TikTok trends, sharing art and cosplays of their own creations.
- The transition from fanfiction (early 2000s) to webtoons (early 2010s) to telling their OC-based stories.
Usage in Crushon.AI
In Crushon.AI, "OC" tag can have different uses: As a franchise OC, a fully original and independent OC (the most common within the platform) and a scenario-based bot with varied characters or random generation of them being all original in the specified scenario.
This is a scenario where you can customize your partner, having both male and female versions offer users a wide variety to let their imagination flow and interact with a Original Character of their own choice. The credit goes to HazelBreak who created this bot.
With this character you're able to play the role of a slaven human by a Dark Elven female named Variel. This is an example of the wide variety of scenarios available through the OC tag, leaving the creator the freedom of designing their preferences and offering users a wide variety to choose who to interact with. The credit goes to Cold1 who created this bot
In this scenario, you're found in a zombie apocalypse, and you get to interact with this survivor of the outbreak called Jax, having the total freedom to choose your course with this newfound friendship or potential romantic interest. Again, this shows the creative potential of this tag usage. The credit goes to Katsumi Kasumi who created this bot.
See Also
References
- OC Definition, Urban Dictionary, 2016
- When is an OC no longer an OC? DeviantArt Forums, 2012
- Original Character, Original Characters Wiki, 2021