there will ALWAYS be a chorus of people who will scream "MARY SUE omg" no matter what
I guess that's a good way to think of it. I know some people just think OC=Mary Sue, and some people think all female characters in LOTR fic are OFCs. And it can be really limiting to worry too much about trying to please those folks. I liked your comment on the second chapter, that no one who cares that much about timelines is going to be reading this kind of AU anyway, so I should just go with it.
I've noticed that most of your OCs are evil, and you usually let Aragorn or another character do the rescuing and healing and comforting, which is probably smart. Not asking your readers to fall in love with somebody you've made up. On the other hand, I've fallen in love with male and female OCs before, so I just don't know.
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I guess that's a good way to think of it. I know some people just think OC=Mary Sue, and some people think all female characters in LOTR fic are OFCs. And it can be really limiting to worry too much about trying to please those folks. I liked your comment on the second chapter, that no one who cares that much about timelines is going to be reading this kind of AU anyway, so I should just go with it.
I've noticed that most of your OCs are evil, and you usually let Aragorn or another character do the rescuing and healing and comforting, which is probably smart. Not asking your readers to fall in love with somebody you've made up. On the other hand, I've fallen in love with male and female OCs before, so I just don't know.