[Gallagher]

i don't know how it's always been, but i think now and days, calling them ocs helps distinguish them from au characters, which have gotten to be insanely popular. a lot of aus can have so many differences that they don't particularly look like their canon of origin anymore. some people like to have credit as the creator of a particular au, too.

also, when stuff is cool enough, there's always someone that asks "what's this from?"

so, maybe people like to think their junk is cool, lol.