For as long as I've been on the internet, I've been an avid reader of fanfiction.
Fanfiction, for those of you who don't actually live by the complete and total mercy of the internet, is a phenomenon where people will contribute to certain fandoms or groups with their own fictional accounts of what should happen to certain plotlines or characters.
There are many different types of fanfictions, the most prominent of which are romantic based and include relationships that either the contributor wished had happened or are based of favorite relationships the viewer has.
Other common types of fanfiction take place as an "AU" or "Alternative Universe." For example, there are college AUs, magic AUs, and dozens of other types of alternative universes that allow interested contributors to be as creative as they want with the characters of their choosing.
Another common aspect of fanfiction is to merge different fandoms. One of the biggest fandoms who are active in the fanfiction community is SuperWhoLock, the merging of television shows "Supernatural," "Doctor Who" and "Sherlock." While the casual viewer may not understand or see the connections between different television shows enough to warrant a crossover, there are definitely up to the thousands of people who have invested hours of their time in establishing and exploring these crossover aspects.
It is here that I would like to pause, and say that if your head has begun to spin with the amount of acronyms and general unknown language that has been casually thrown around in this article, then I would like to reassure you that you are not alone in this scenario. It takes a certain amount of dedication, time, and general existence on the internet to be able to decode all aspects of fanfiction.
As with all things, there are definitely people who oppose fanfiction existing. Authors such as George R.R Martin and Diana Galbadon, the authors of the beloved "Song of Ice and Fire" and "Outlander" series, respectively have expressed their own negative opinions on fanfiction. Generally, most naysayers claim that fanfiction is nothing other than copyright as well as being disrespectful.
Other well known authors, such as Neil Gaiman (who actually contributes to his own fanfiction community) and JK Rowling appreciate the creative efforts taken by those who contribute to their fandom.
The bottom line is, fanfiction is a phenomenon that has existed ever since people have been fond of something. Now that it is more accessible via the internet, sites such as LiveJournal, AO3, and Fanfiction.net all house hundreds of thousands of stories ranging from video games, to Shakespeare, to even the Bible. While it may be considered controversial to some, there is no doubting that people dedicate enormous amounts of time, energy, and creativity to bring joy to others who read them.
