"Rec List: OC-centric Fics" by Independence1776

[independence1776]

B2MeM Prompt and Path: Favorite Genre or Art Style, Yellow path
Format: Fanwork Recs
Genre: Varied
Rating: Varied
Warnings: Varied
Characters: Varied
Pairings: Varied
Creator Notes (optional): None
Summary: A selection of OC-centric fics, organized by length.

One of my favorite genres in fic, no matter what fandom, is stories that center on original characters. They bring in opportunities to expand the world, to let us see things that canon characters miss, how life exists behind the scenes and in places canon barely touches on. Some of these are fandom classics; others are newer.

A Very Dark, Very Wet, and Very Miserable Morning by ThunderaTiger
Format: Short story
Genre: Dark humor
Rating: Teens
Warnings: References to torture; the POV character is an interrogator in Barad-dûr.
Characters: Mouth of Sauron, OCs
Pairings: None
Summary: Sometimes, it just doesn't pay to be evil. And even if your bed is underwater, there are some mornings when you're better off staying in it.



Noise of Thunder by Astris (AO3)
Format: Short Story
Genre: General
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Character death, moderate violence
Characters: OCs
Pairings: None
Summary: During the Dagor Bragollach, a captain of the Fëanorian soldiers in Lothlann finds herself caught in the flames.



New Year’s Night by Elleth (AO3)
Format: Short story
Genre: Adventure, suspense
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Author Choose Not to Warn
Characters: Avarin OCs
Pairings: OFC/OFC
Summary: On the plains of Northern Rhûn in the early Years of the Sun, a young woman of the Kinn-lai goes on a perilous journey to rescue her missing sister.



Orcling by Pandemonium_213
Format: Novella (13k)
Genre: Adventure
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Moderate violence
Characters: OCs, Sauron-as-Annatar
Pairings: None
Summary: During a Second Age equivalent of a natural history "field trip" in the upper Vale of the Glanduin River, a young Mélamírë finds her father's penchant for turning everything into a lesson to be stifling. Taking advantage of Father's unexpected nap, she sets off on a little expedition of her own, intending to return by sunset. However, she makes a discovery that turns what she intended as an afternoon's adventure into something far more harrowing and that challenges what she has been taught.



Keep Alive the Memory by Celeritas
Format: Novel (85k)
Genre: Coming of age, drama
Rating: Teens
Warnings: Mild violence
Characters: OCs
Pairings: Background only
Summary: A young hobbit's life is turned upside-down when she learns to read. A tale of history, myth, manuscripts, and a disbelieving generation of hobbits circa S.R. 1540.



Daughter of Time by wednesday-mc (fanfiction.net)
Format: Epic novel (184k on ff.net; fourteen more chapters on the main site)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Romance
Rating: Teens
Warnings: The authors warn that it may not be to everyone’s taste due to the AU aspects. It’s also an unfinished WIP.
Characters: OFC, Legolas, Haldir, Elrond, other canon characters
Pairings: OFC/Legolas
Summary: Legolas never left Middle-Earth, but stayed behind to look after Aragorn's children--most specifically the first-born daughter of each generation. In 2004, this generation's daughter was never prepared to believe in Elves, much less Legolas.




The King’s Surgeon and The King’s Surgeon Happy AU by SurgicalSteel
Format: Epic novel (256k or 624k, respectively)
Genre: Drama
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Language, violence, character death, adult themes, sex, graphic medical scenes. The Happy AU depends on you reading the canon-compliant version first.
Characters: OCs and canon; if they show up in LotR, there’s a good chance they’ll appear here.
Pairings: Canon, OFC/Halbarad, and OC/OC
Summary: The life and adventures of a surgeon in the late Third and early Fourth Ages of Middle-earth, from south to north and back again.

Comments

[independence1776]

I wish they would, too, and last I heard, they said they were planning to. But I doubt it'll happen given the amount of time it's been.