Out of Character

Also called "OOC," "Out of Character" refers to any depiction in Daria fanfic that shows one or more series characters acting in a manner inconsistent with canon—e.g., showing Daria Morgendorffer as stupid. Alternate-universe depictions of canon characters may seen OOC, though an alteration to the usual cause-and-effect chain in the series is assumed to be responsible, and should be made clear in the tale. For example, Daria is shown as mentally retarded in "It Slipped Through My Hands, Like a Shadow, Like a Dream," by The Angst Guy, but this happens through an accident of genetics, which is how she is assumed to be so intelligent in canon; reversing the situation allows the story to explore the consequences of such a change. If Daria were shown to be of low intelligence with no given cause, that depiction would be called OOC.