Author Archives: Sam

Where is the line between fanfic and original work?

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This … issue arose tonight and it just made me wonder. I mean obviously canon-compliant fanfic/fanart is obviously not original but AU is far murkier territory.

We take characters we know and love and transplant them into completely different settings. We give them new backstories and new motivations. We change things about them, we make them experience new defining moments. We give them family or take it away. We do role reversals (Light!Rumple, Dark!Belle for instance).

Ooops I went on longer than intended so I’ll use a cut 🙂

Then there are aspects of the character. We take the downtrodden scared spinner, or the ruthless business man, or the lonely man behind the mask. Each are just one aspect but we exaggerate, we change, we use our impression of the character and not the actual character.

AU can change things so much that if we changed the names would anyone know? Some people have taken their fanfic and turned it into original works because there is a lot of originality in there. By the time the AU story has been told how much is fanfic and how much is original?

I ask this because like I said the ‘issue’ arose tonight when I spoke with someone who was adamant the drawing I was signing up to do had to be original. I explained that I used references as I’m still pretty bad at drawing, and they said that was fine but it couldn’t be fanfic.

I don’t do well talking with people face to face so it was only on the drive home that I started musing that maybe we were talking at cross purposes. Perhaps what they were afraid of was canon-ish fanfic, whereas what I had in mind would basically only share the faces of these characters. (It was a Beauty and the Beast adaptation in case you were wondering, and they said they’d throw something (me or the drawing I’m not sure) if I drew Robert Carlyle).

This reminds me of that graphic where someone simply told the story of Star Wars, Harry Potter, King Arthur and a couple of others because they can break down the same. Young Orphan is the Chosen One, sees their mentor die, has a special skill, defeats the bad guy etc. Which brings up the age old argument of what is an original story in the first place?

If we get inspiration from another piece of media and take one aspect e.g. the lonely man behind the mask, as I used it as an example earlier, and put it in a new setting, new name, new looks, new backstory, new everything else – is that still fanfic?

Anyway, I’ll stop now before I go on any further as I’m hoping someone will read this and respond – I’m really interested to hear other opinions – and if I ramble on too long then nobody will read heh 🙂

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of-princes-and-savages replied to your post:
I am getting so fed up of Channel 4 not airing…

Wait…Agents of Shield came back? When?!

That’s kinda the point hehe – it hasn’t, not in the UK at least.

Unless you meant in the US in which case it was December 1st. It wasn’t supposed to be until January but I did read (no clue if it’s true) that because the Inhumans bombed they brought AoS back early to try and make up for it.

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I am getting so fed up of Channel 4 not airing Agents of Shield Season 5.

You have the rights to it – air it!

Honestly this is why people pirate. Making them wait months and months in a global connected world is ridiculous. I mean I don’t pirate a) because I don’t know how and b) I’m too afraid of getting caught but man the frustration is real. I just want to watch!

There are all these amazing gifsets on my dash and I try and blacklist for spoilers because I don’t want every little detail spoiled before I can watch BUT quite rightly fans don’t consider things spoilers after a few weeks. It’s impossible to avoid unless I avoid the entire fandom and I don’t want to do that. I love this show and I want to have it on my dash and in my life.

Sorry for the rant. I know it’s a silly thing to get irritated about, it is after all just a TV show, but ugh I had to vent somewhere. Silly or not, it’s really bugging me.

As a side note it’s the same with Killjoys. Season 3 aired last summer, but netflix UK won’t put it up until this summer probably – a whole years delay. I could list many more examples but those are the two that I really care about right now. /grumbles it’s not like it has to come over by steamship /grumbles.

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I had a really cool/weird dream last night.

It started off with the Rumbelle family with imp!Rumple in this realm. They were married, and had Bae, Gideon and a younger sister. Then Agent Phil Coulson of Shield had to arrest Rumple for a crime he didn’t commit.

Coulson tried to be nice about it but there were listening devices all over the house, he said it was for the families safety but they didn’t trust him – Rumple was innocent!

Then the dream morphed and I was in a bar with Peggy Carter. I spotted this guy about to shoot her so I started to throw things at him – pens, a stapler, desk stuff that came to hand. He started shooting at me and Peggy took him out, then says that I saved her life. I said I didn’t really do anything and then … the next bit is a bit fuzzy but it’s the 1950′s and Peggy decides I need a makeover. I wind up in a dress and heels! (neither of which I would EVER wear) and I say that I can’t walk in heels, so Peggy tells me to run instead – I’ve now been made an assistant Shield agent.

Again it’s a bit fuzzy but then we’re at the 12th precinct but it’s still the 1950′s, and I’m going undercover as Castle’s new partner, as Ryan, Esposito and Beckett have to go somewhere on this old wooden plane. There’s some banter between Ryan and Esposito as Ryan doesn’t think he can fly the plane. We see them off and then start investigating … something?

Anyway, a bit later Castle realises what he had seen but not noticed – that the plane was sabotaged. That’s why I’d been put undercover. We try and get hold of a phone to call the police but nobody has one. For some reason we’re on my old street and knocking on all my old neighbours doors doing this. So we run all the way to the police station instead and tell them that they need to contact the plane before it falls out of the sky. The uniformed cop grabs his radio and goes “Mayday, mayday” and then says “ah wrong radio” then someone comes in and says there has been an explosion.

Cut to Castle sprinting across this open field, wooden debris everywhere, fire lighting up the night sky going “my wife’s in there!” and then Beckett, Esposito and Ryan appear out of the smoke, a bit grubby but unharmed.

Then I woke up 🙂

#i haven’t even watched castle lately#seriously i don’t know what my brain was doing last night

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Awesome Day One of my “reading fanfic on the bus” experiment worked well. I downloaded half a dozen fanfics on my TBR pile off AO3 onto the kindle ready for today. On the way in I read a one shot and made notes on my phone for writing up as a comment when I get home.

Hopefully this will continue as I feel really guilty how little fanfic I’ve read, and how I’ve barely commented in months. You guys are fabulous and deserve all the kudos in the world.

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I just secured a new tumblr URL.

I know, I know, I said I would never change because URL’s are like an identity. When people change their avatars it confuses me enough, I’m definitely following some people and I suddenly look one day and I think “who are you?” as they have changed their URL and I didn’t notice at the time.

So I’m going to be a total hypocrite basically. I think the URL is too cool not to use and so yeah basically I’m going to do it 🙂

The second Fitzsimmons Secret Valentine is over I’m going to change. Sorry in advance for being annoying.

wizzygold replied to your post “I just secured a new tumblr URL. I know, I know, I said I would never…”

…let me know the new one so I don’t get confused ��☺️

Of course 🙂

I will do those post things with the >> to indicate change and I’ll put on my byline who I used to be and basically try and be as helpful as possible.

Hi!!!! Its your secret Valentine here! I hope you’ve been having a good week!! I’ve been playing about with your prompt and planning some ideas and a non shield au works best. How does that sound? 💕

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Heya!!

Yeah my weeks been alright. Not sure where it went, I feel like I blinked and missed it but thank merlin it’s Friday heh 🙂 I hope that you had a good week and that you have a brilliant weekend!

I rather suspected with my prompt that it suggested a non-Shield AU. I am sorry for that if you’d rather have written something more canon. I’m not very good at thinking up prompts.

Anyway I think it sounds awesome! 🙂 I mean it’s Fitzsimmons and it’s got a happy ending right? So what’s not to like? 🙂 I hope you have fun with the ideas!

5. Did you make an outline for Conspiracy Afloat? Did you stick to it?

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Oh yes – on both counts actually.I planned that fic the way I plan a novel, which given that it probably would have been better (and less rushed) if it was novel length kinda made sense. I did a full timeline, scene by scene outline etc. To make sure I didn’t mess up and have it be day/night at the wrong time.

You have no idea how tempting it was to go ‘off book’ and veer off the outline. I had so much more I wanted to do but that was an RSS fic so it had a strict deadline. It was getting on for 30k I think when it was done anyway, so I really didn’t time to expand it. The outline helped me get it done, I don’t think I would have managed otherwise.

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I have twice as many posts in my drafts waiting for me to tag and add to the queue, than I do in the queue /facepalm

I thought we weren’t doing this again self? #sam is lazy