#idk I really need to get food rn so Ima just hit the button and forget I posted this LOL

[kqltlc]

Terminology clarification for OC and FC because I keep seeing the terms being misused and it makes it very difficult to browse tags when a majority of the time the tags are applied wrong.

This is gonna be a long post, buckle ur seatbelts and take out your spiral straws bc ur brain gonna be as mush as mine when I'm done.

DISCLAIMER: This is my point of view and doesn't apply to EVERY scenario. Every scenario, or character, can have nuances that make them an anomaly. This is more of a generally-speaking post. I'm also really bad with words and my brain dies immediately at long posts so feel free to cut me some slack if there's mistakes or inconsistencies. LOL.

"OC" stands for "Original Character."

This is a character made entirely by you. No influence or strings attached.

You might take bits of inspiration from things such as objects, personality, outfits, or ideas - perhaps you were introduced to these through a fandom - but none of these things are inherently fandom as they exist outside of fandom as well.

Lets use dragons as an example. Dragons are a part of mythology that can't be traced back to any specific source and, for the most part, are simply a combination of existing animals like lizards and bats.

Imagine a dragon based on the long-nosed whipsnake but with a pumpkin vibe: A goofy noodle of a dragon with a slender orange body, green horns pointed backward, green vine-like wings, green belly scales that reach until the green tail that eventually ends off in vines.

This would be an OC as you created it with no strings attached to existing media. You took a few ideas you liked and created something new out of it, something original to you. If anything similar exists, it's purely coincidental and you most likely aren't aware of it.

Other examples in popular media include the sources of fandom, the Original worlds in which fandoms follow such as Sonic, Mario, Spiderman, Next Gen, Murder Drones, etc.

Sonic is a blue hedgehog that can run fast and has to save the world, Mario is a plumber out to save the princess, Spiderman is just a dude who got bit by a radioactive spider, Next gen is about a broken girl who befriends a broken robot and learns the meaning of friendship and moving on from the past, Murder Drones is about different kinds of robots initially pitted against each other but starting to realize there's something else afoot.

These were created based on ideas. There might be some idea-taking from existing media but these guys function entirely on their own, in their own world, with little to no relation to anything else.

extra notes:

an OC would be able to pass in a court of law if someone tried to claim copyright. It's why original media HAS to be original.

everything you do is canon lmao.

"FC" stands for "Fan Character."

This is a character made in relation to existing fandoms - or as I'm going to call them, the Original (OG) World, a world not made by you.

Whether it's taking a lot of visual ideas from the OG World, being related to any of the characters or plot in the OG World, or just being in the OG World, this character has strings attached to something already created by someone else. Perhaps what you create is unique on its own, but it still has relations to the OG World.

Bringing back the dragon example. You decide to make a dragon loosely based on that long-nosed whipsnake and pumpkin combo. The difference here is that you're making them a Hivewing from Wings of Fire, or a Skydancer from FlightRising.

This would make them an FC as they end up being connected to an OG World. You can have a Sonic FC who is a rainbow stag beetle that you use in any setting, a Murder Drones Worker Drone with no relation to the characters or story since they have their own but still follow the Murder Drones vibe, perhaps you have a Spiderverse character who got bit by a radioactive rabbit so their entire aesthetic is more rabbit-y.

If you're a participant of an open or closed species, then they'd fall under this as well, unless you're the creator of the species ofc.

You are a fan of an OG World, created a character inspired by it and, depending how strong the connection is to the OG World, may not be able to function outside of it (without it being obvious they stand out too much in other worlds, original or otherwise).

extra notes:

would not be able to pass in a court of law if copyright claimed as the character would share too many traits with the OG World.

anything you do is not canon in the OG World.

Can my character become an OC (or vise versa)?

Yes! It's absolutely possible for your character to start as one and evolve into the other!

You can have an FC that, over time, gets so much original ideas added to them and fandom ties severed that they can stand on their own. Perhaps you made that little snake-derg in a fandom first but eventually loved it so much you decided to make it more of its own thing!

I originally adopted a Wings of Fire design from a user a while ago and turned it into an OC by adjusting and stylizing it to a point where it's just a dragon in a world I setup for a dragon roleplay (I also know nothing on WoF so that kinda helps boost originality, lol).

You can also have an OC that you decided to drop into a fandom because you love the fandoms OG World so much! You end up giving them traits and ideas more relevant to the OG World so they fit in and function better~

(I don't have many examples of this as I'm not big on fandoms, lol)

Conclusion + Extra Notes

Please consider what's been said and tag accordingly. Although words are words and communication can be pretty loose, in the ways of tagging they're very crucial to get right.

It's really unfun to browse the OC tags and get bombarded by FCs because no one seems to remember what the terms mean, just as it's unfun to browse tags for fandoms and get unrelated posts.

Extra Notes: Although not specific to OC and FC, kinda related.

This is kinda why some creators are vehemently against being given ideas. It becomes less original, especially the more detailed an idea is.

This also plays a roll in companies trying to claim words and ideas, copywriting anything that's even remotely similar. "Monster" is a word/idea that cannot be claimed, and yet the Monster Energy Drink brand still tried to claim it. The idea of platformers or battle systems is not something inherently owned by Nintendo and yet they're getting aggressive with claiming it as their own.

DISCLAIMER: This is my point of view and doesn't apply to EVERY scenario. Every scenario, or character, can have nuances that make them an anomaly. This is more of a generally-speaking post. I'm also really bad with words and my brain dies immediately at long posts so feel free to cut me some slack if there's mistakes or inconsistencies. LOL.

Also at this point I haven't ate dinner yet and I'm really hungry so brain is 110% dead. Ya'll have fun, I'ma get some chimken nuggiez.