You have to wonder what he must be thinking after this has happened so many times.
Random Orcs are a group of antagonist characters summoned by a Mary Sue's narrative to show off how speshul she is. Popular choices include orcs (of course), Stormtroopers, Death Eaters, bandits, Romulans, gangs, vermin, and just about any group of random mooks. Their motivations are unexplained, they are usually left completely without characterization beyond being part of whatever group or species they come from, and their primary purpose is to help the Sue twist canon to her own design. They pop into existence when the Sue wants some drama, and are never heard of again after their task has been completed.
Suddenly... ORCS! EVERYWHERE!
Random Orcs may:
- Threaten/attempt to kill the Sue so that a canon character can rescue her
- Threaten/attempt to kill the Sue so that she can show off how speshul she is
- Kidnap the Sue so that a canon may rescue her
- Kidnap canons so that the Sue may rescue them
- Employ torture or rape on either Sue or canons for the purpose of hurt/comfort
- Kill the Sue so that the canons may mourn over her
Saruman inciting the Dunlendings. This action makes them NOT Random Orcs (though to the people of Rohan they appeared pretty randomly).
Signs that an antagonist is not a Random Orc:
- Having a personality
- Having motivations of his own
- Having a history and future beyond his appearance in the fic
- Being employed by an antagonist who has a personality, purpose, and motivations of his own
Examples of Random Orcs[]
- "Chosen" (The Lord of the Rings), Agents Jay Thorntree and Acacia Byrd (DMS)
- The first appearance of the phenomenon (with literal orcs) in the Original Series. Phoenix's kidnapping here would have led to the Fellowship of the Ring breaking up just to rescue her.
- "Diary of the RBWPOON: The Story Never Told" (Fire Emblem), Agents Kat Daydream and Echo Kazul (APD)
- Kat finds the character journal (sort of) of the Random Bandits Who Pop Out Of Nowhere.
- "The Girl and Her Dragon" (How to Train Your Dragon), Agents Derik and Earwig (DMS)
- Toward the end of the badfic, rebel Vikings appear out of nowhere to sack Berk for no reason except to give the Sue an excuse to save the day.
- "The Company of Thorin Oakenshield with Future Giants" (Warhammer 40,000 x The Hobbit), Agents Thoth and Tom Andrews (DF) with Agent Derik (DMS)
- Not one, but two sets of Random Bandits pop out of nowhere to be slaughtered by the fic's Gary Stu. The Random Tyranids probably count, too.