An Announcement and an Apology · 10:09pm May 22nd, 2022
I’ve come to a decision about my writing, and it’s likely one most of the people reading this aren’t going to be a fan of, but I’m not going to beat around the bush.
I don’t think I can write fanfics much, if at all, anymore.
Let me explain, though the explanation likely isn’t going to do much good.
As of late I’ve been going through and reexamining things in my life. Probably not the best idea, but it is something we all must do every now and then. I’ve scrutinized everything, trying to see where I fit in life and if I’m, well, doing the right thing. And I got to thinking about the things I write, things I write using other people’s characters. Taking those characters and putting them in situations that suit my fancy, my morals, my visions—not theirs or their author’s. Sometimes taking them places I know the original authors never wanted and would, quite honestly, be insulted to find out about.
I used to dismiss this as not a big deal. So what if I’m using other people’s ideas? I can tell what I want and if they get mad, they can get mad, who cares?
I think… I’ve come to the conclusion that this is crass. They care. They may never read anything I’ve written or even hear of its existence, but if they knew what I’d done, they’d be upset. I would have tainted their art, in their eyes. Who am I to desecrate what they’ve made just because I want to enjoy myself and have a few giggles?
I myself have felt this feeling. And while I will never condemn people writing offshoots of my stuff, no matter how awkward I may feel about it in the end, that feeling of ‘wait, that’s not right’ that sits in the back of my head and gnaws is not something I’d wish on anyone else. I don’t want to be the cause of that feeling in anyone. Sure, most of the authors don’t even know I exist. But I used a lot of fanfics in Songs of the Spheres and the League of Sweetie Belles… I often felt like my vision was muddled and trampled over in some of those. I never stopped to think that other people’s visions might have been horrendously mutated by me, at least not until now.
I’d always held that “psh, we’re all fanfic writers, we don’t need to ask permission to do anything.” But… maybe we do. Not because there’s a law or anything, but because these characters are someone’s art.
Now, some of you will point out the obvious. Some people are just fine with fanfics of their work and encourage them. I’m not sure who those people are, exactly, I’ve never bothered to check before now, but I know they’re out there. I actually have no problem writing fanfics on works whose authors have said they’re fine with it. (I, by the way, will always be fine with it, this quandary I’m feeling right now I wouldn’t wish on anyone.)
However, see, I write megacrossovers. With hundreds and hundreds of crossovers. There’s no way for me to even check all of those. And I know for a fact that several things I do use do not like fanfics. (As much as I dislike the Tolkien estate’s practices, they exemplify this.)
I can’t really tell a megacrossover story in good conscience anymore.
Which really is a problem because as most people who read this will know, I started like two months ago another huge multi-year level-of-Songs-of-the-Spheres project called Transcendental Sequence. I absolutely love the story and have so many ideas for it… but it’s been difficult, lately, reconciling what I’m doing with what I believe the right and considerate thing to do is. Not to mention that I find myself butting heads more and more with the characters—I don’t want to tell a story about sex or one that will glorify violence, yet many characters I end up using would introduce those things into a story, and I end up dancing around them… in such a way that just does a disservice to the characters.
And this is why I’m apologizing. I can’t write Transcendental Sequence anymore. I’m pretty sure I won’t be writing any more fanfics, unless I know the originator of the story approves. For all of you who follow me explicitly for my megacrossovers, I know this is a huge disappointment. All I can say is that I’m sorry—I said I would bring you all this awesome thing, and I just… can’t do it, not anymore.
Of my stories that are currently running, Defining Fate will finish, as I’ve already completed it. The Spark will not. (In fact, writing one of its chapters was part of what brought along the realizations that eventually led to this decision.) Final Fantasy Aleph Null will also complete—and I still want people to read it in order to see if the ending works. I’m not backing off of something that’s 90% complete, that’s just cruel to the audience.
Wizard Space Program is, of course, unaffected as it is a completely original story.
Transcendental Sequence itself… was such an endeavor. I really wanted to do it. I’ve been juggling the idea in my head for well over a year now, researching, investigating, and plotting things out. I had so many things planned. It was an epic adventure… and I really, really didn’t want to let it go. Probably why I pushed myself through for so long.
But the ideas in it are too good to just leave aside forever, even if I can’t write it the way I wanted.
There will, one day, be another Omniverse Project. But every world within it will be originally crafted, built from the ground up. Modeled after stories and tropes, yes, but not specifically a vision of any one person. They will be representations, ideas.
And there will be a unicorn named Cinder in it. Of that, I am certain.
When Omniverse Projects fail, they always get incorporated into the next one.
I don’t know when it will come, but it will come eventually. And rest assured, I will let you all know when it does.
Thank you for listening. I truly am sorry for all this. I hope you’ll stick with me in my forays into completely original fiction.
If anyone wants to know what would have happened in my stories, feel free to ask, though some of the big secrets of Transcendental Sequence I will still keep to myself. If anyone wants to write any of my stories or even spinoffs, I’ll actually help you with my own notes.
As for the rest of you… do whatever you think is good and right. I may be wrong about all this. But I can’t be sure about that, and that’s enough for me.
See you around.
-GM, master of…
I understand. I've found that I hate using other people's fan-made characters without their permission or invitation, even as I blithely rework the base material to suit my needs. In my case, it's a matter of showing respect to colleagues as opposed to those who produced the raw material, who are functioning on an entirely different level of making fiction.
Do what you feel is right, GM. Thanks for letting us know about your decision. Also, you may want to include some links to the stories not hosted here.
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Right, links added.
Thanks for being understanding. Hope to see you around, friend.
-GM, master of 8-balls.
That is unfortunate, but I wish you the best dude. Make sure you wow us with your original stuff!
5659250
Best of luck blackjack
(Can I call you that?)
That's too bad, while I haven't enjoyed some of your interpretations of characters I did appreciate the effort itself. I really like what I'd seen of The Spark so far so it's a shame it won't continue.
But at the end of the day it's not like you get paid to do this so do whatever makes you happy.
I understand. Your logic is infallible and the meaning behind it is beautiful. I'm going to miss your writing, though. I hope you find where you want to be and have a wonderful time being there.
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I prefer GM, but yes you can.
-GM, master of Blackjack.
In a way, I understand. Back in the late 90's and early 2000's, I wrote a bunch of Sailor Moon and Samurai Pizza Cats fanfics that grossly disrespected the characters. It's for that reason that the former's never seen the light of day on the Internet, and the latter I had taken down off of Fanfiction.Net later on. Pretty sure if their respective creators ever saw what I wrote, they'd read me the mother of all riot acts.
Wishing you the best in your future endeavors.
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I knew it would be that
Yeah, that’s sad, but reasonable. I’ll be sure to check out WSP next time I’ve some free time for it.
You don’t have any time. You’re always busy.
...Shush you.
So, shall it be assumed that Aleph Null is cancelled as well?Nvm, saw it on second read.
Anyhoo, you do you, mate. I'm not gonna try to talk you out of it. But, like, you do realize that pretty much all works are derivative works, right?
Like, La Divina Comedia and Paradise Lost are both Bible fanfiction.
my dude, do you believe that everyone who participated in oral tradition is wrong?
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No, there is a point that after people are long dead and the law no longer cares that it's irrelevant. Or if it's a story *designed* to be told again and again. As I mentioned in the post, if the original author is okay with it, there is literally nothing wrong here.
-GM, master of eggplants.
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Oh yes, Derivative isn't an issue, really. We all borrow things, there are no real original ideas. It's just the taking of specific things that are specific people's pride and joy without their permission, implied or no.
Also there's a point at which a story's so old everyone who cares is dead and it's free game.
((A FFAN reader!? ...Provide feedback? Plz?))
-GM, master of MnMs.
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I haven't really read it significantly yet. I'm not familiar enough with Final Fantasy, so I put it on subscribe and am letting it build up some.
Can't say I completely agree with you. Putting the characters into the situations that their authors never considered is what fanfiction all about.
In my book it's all about intentions. There are those who use the characters just for shits and giggles but there are also people like you who have a great and epic story to tell.
As for disrespecting others work… well that's something that the writer needs to ask themselves. Do they? Or do they not? If you think that you harass the art other people made well… nobody knows themselves better than the person in question.
I'm not really happy to hear this but if that what you want then I'm not stopping you. Nobody should. Good luck finding what you're comfortable with.
It's a shame to see you go, as you're a very good writer.
This said, you make some very good points.
Personally, I write not mega crossovers but thing I'm allowed to see, what you guys call fiction I know to be what's beyond the mundanity of this universe, and the people who have let us see it aren not owners of that. They've just provided us the most limited windows to those places,and the window gets tinier the more people get in the "creative" process.
As I said, you're an excellent writer, and your job has allowed me to understand deeper my already deeper knowledge about Creation as a whole, helping me to help him with his job as an explorer, balancer and more.
Like many have said before, I'm eager to see what you will see of the Creation now that you're "free" of seeing the alternatives that maybe those who first saw those universes, free of showing the universes that their first explorers couldn't or would have been uncomfortable to see (you wouldn't believe how often I'm allowed to see death. The deaths of other versions of myself, people who he and I like, and beings that could have been lifetime companions.)
In the end, as many have said...
I await your "GMverse"
Poncho: The Canon Complianitist
I know you'll say otherwise, but somehow I feel partially responsible to what led to your decision. That said, I can full heartedly sympathise the sentiment of what it means being a fanfic writer and using characters from other people's work. All I can say is it is a shame you are leaving (considering I just got to know your other works) and I wish you the best of luck in your future endeavours.
Just bear in mind, never say never. Should the fancy to return ever come back, know that we'll be here to welcome you back with open arms.
Good luck, GM
This has kinda gotten me thinking on some of my own fanfic ideas and if it’s really a good idea to make them. Of course I haven’t actually started righting any of them yet, but that’s mostly due to being overwhelmed with work. But your post made me stop and think, at least five of the fics I’ve been thinking of making are ether crossovers or rewrites of other fics, and the other three are crossovers with other IPs. And writing that last sentence I just realized how overwhelmed I’d be if I even tried to write them all.
Honestly, I completely understand what you’re saying,, if I ever did write down any of my fics, I think I’d struggle to do the characters justice, and there’s a non zero chance that I’d make them all ether merry sues, of self inserts. And while there’s a few of them I’ll probably still write at some point, it’s probably for the best that most of them stay in my head, at least for now. Considering that’s probably the main way I derive enjoyment from media, coming up with alternate scenarios in my head. :)
Maybe I’ll try and write down some of the original stuff that’s been bouncing around my head for a while now. Especially since things are finally calming down at work.
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You are correct, I am going to say it's not you! This almost squarely falls on my shoulders and my own personal morals. You weren't even one of the people really pressuring me to continue my work!
And I would still be fine writing fanfics for franchises that approve of it. Lauren Faust seems pretty okay with it, given how much she helped with Them's Fightin' Herds n' stuff. I just... WANT to write bigger, crazier, insane-er stories.
-GM, master of big big.
5659250
so are you leaving fimfiction thats a shame i really enjoyed your fics im guessing the spark is canceled huh? however if anyone else wants to continue sequence and finish or add to it with your permission plz let us know or at least a link
"hugs you tight"
I just want to tell you that I fully understand why you're doing this and I'm not mad at all. You have to do what you think is right and you have my utmost respect for that. You've always had my respect, honestly. You took me into The Strange and made me feel comfortable in a game-form that once gave me bad memories, helping to provide many more good ones. You introduced me to Twilence and the epic adventures of Cinder.
I will always respect you, your work, and your choices, because you are a badass human being, in my opinion. No matter what path you take next on your journey, remember that you have friends who love you here and are more than welcome to come visit. Thank you so much, GM.
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I will be sure to let you know about any readings, extensions, or people writing stuff based on my stuff. Don't worry.
-GM, master of kells.
I think you are a good enough writer to make a career with original stories - or writing for TV shows or something.
Don't do those multi franchise mega crossovers anymore - for your own sake!
Personally speaking, I'd be much happier knowing that you were working on what you want, rather than seeing you work on fanfiction against your will, and I'm pretty sure anyone you ask will agree.
I will say that I used to feel the same way about fanfiction until I really started to get into it, and realized that people typically don't write a derivative novel-length fanfic from anywhere but a place of love and respect for the original work.
Of course, if anyone has earned the right to feel this way it's gotta be you at this point, and at least you'll get more time to focus on your original works, so I hope you're not too down about things.
Best of luck moving forward!
This is remindin me I need to go ahead and finis reading the crossover involving Super Paper Mario.
That said, the Spark really interested me and had my attention, especially when i realized it was crossing over something I'd only begun to learn a bit about (eg Gravity Falls)
I am at least curious- how much of a role was the Dominion going to wind up playing in the story? Was Odo going to make an appearance at any point, or have his influence be felt?
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Here's the raw unfiltered plot notes I had for "The Spark" if you're curious
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1QfzoWdztqIdsfjvExXxxWi0K7A4pcVI64qmbIBG23Q0/edit
-GM, master of jenga.
I get it. That's where fanfiction lives for better or for worse. Some use it to explore their favorite characters and send them on adventures they want to see them in, use the characters to tell the story they want to tell, other just want to try their hand at writing and telling a story. But at the core of it is someone else's vision.
Do what you feel is right. I respect your position and the eloquence which you stated it.
I actually relate to this feeling way too much. I was drawn to Songs of the Spheres because it was very similar to my own idea for a mega-crossover multiverse story. But I always felt I couldn’t do the characters justice. It wasn’t a problem of if the author wanted it that stopped me, it was an issue of knowing I’d fall short when depicting their characters.
SotS is probably my favorite work of fiction. You crafted a super interesting world and while the characters weren’t always original, you had the interactions work pretty well. If you feel you can’t do that in good conscience anymore, then that’s where you find yourself.
Over the years, I’ve built my own original multiverse idea up in my head. Basing original worlds on pre-existing ones, but with differences that set them apart as original. This is not practical, as I know from this experience. I only have about half of the worlds I need to replace finished, and it’s been ten years. And characters from other works are just more interesting in many cases.
I know I’m late on this, but I just wanted to let you know that it was still a good run, and the stuff you did write was epic in every sense of the word. Thanks for the amazing stories!
(And you’ll be hard pressed to convince me that this isn’t just a cover up for what happened with you SotS’s version of collide, keeping it vague for spoiler reasons).
Well, at least there will eventually be more, even if it won’t use any other series out there.
If that’s the decision you’ve come to then I guess that’s that. I wish you the best of luck on your future pursuits. Even if I don’t get your reasoning.
Since the way I see it, artists can’t expect to be able to control how people view or interpret their works. since creation is never a one way street, half of the work is always done on the other end. And what the end consumer builds as their part depends on them. A creator can try to police their audience, but it won’t actually do any good. it won’t improve their skill or better get the message of their work across. they laid bare their heart and soul onto print, or canvas, or film, or whatever, and if people don’t like what they see? Or don’t see what you do? So be it. There will always be people like that. the chance of being marred in such a way is simply a risk you have to take when you put yourself out there like that. And if you want to create, or do anything for that matter, things not turning out how you want them to is something you have to learn how to work and live with.
It are things like these that often make me wonder if anyone, here in the brony fandom or in other fandoms, ever realizes what responsibility is.
People in this world like to express themselves a lot, speaking their opinion is very important to them. Which is ironic, as it fits so exactly to what we are talking about here. Writing fanfiction is just that, self-expression. Fanfiction is probably much, much more suited for self-expression than original stories could ever be. Because an original story only tells exactly one vision, the vision of the author who has seen the characters and discovered the world they are writing about. This vision always remains the same, as the author of the story always views "their" world in the same way. It's only when other people, fanfiction authors, take an author's original work and write their own stories about the characters and the world they live in that different perspectives get added, that sides of the characters or the world are being explored that the original author has chosen not to explore or not even considered. And that the characters are being put into situations where their individual personalities can shine in different and unique ways, which then delivers messages and lessons that are important and would not be possible to be passed on to the audience if fanfiction authors wouldn't pick up the pen and take an author's original story to write their own spins on it. It's only thanks to fanfiction that the broad spectrum of a story and the world it tells about can be fully explored and that all the nuances, all the details, all the lessons and messages and all of the potential of this world can be unfolded.
Fanfiction is the way to tell the stories that the original author doesn't want or can't tell, but that are still important, as they pass on messages and lessons that society needs and whose absence would constitute a loss. And, even more importantly, fanfiction serves the general ability of self-expression of society much, much more than original stories do. Fanfiction is a tool to learn questioning the world around you, to question other's viewpoints and even to break rules that are not in the best interest of society. Writing fanfiction is freedom.
A true author will always welcome fanfiction of their work, whether they agree with a certain portrayal or not, and be proud of it that their work is influential enough to inspire other authors to write their own takes on it. An author understands the desire to create and how one's imagination flies when reading a book. Fanfiction always starts in your head and exists there long before it gets written down and every author started out as an avid reader, who had the same fanfictions in their head when reading the books of authors that came before them. And regardless if they wrote down those fanfictions or decided to keep them inside their heads, it makes authors understand, through personal experience, why it is important for people to write fanfiction, what beauty lies in fanfiction and what important purpose it serves.
Imagination and letting one's thoughts about an author's story fly free is part of being reader and author alike, because at the end of the day, an author is also a reader. Every author made that experience of creating fanfiction, whether it got written down or was only in their head, and thus, no author who truly understands their craft and what storytelling means would ever oppose the idea of fanfiction or feel insulted by it.
It is always only those authors that see writing stories as a pure financial means to an end, not a passion and love for the universes and worlds they discover and explore, that get upset about fanfiction of their work. Those authors are not in it with their heart, only with greed for money, and therefore see fanfiction of their stories as an existential threat. Something that has been proven untrue time and time again for decades, no author of an original work ever lost income because of fanfictions that were written for it, but greed for money clouds the mind. And greed always destroys beautiful things, that has also been proven time and time again, and it is those authors whose only interest is money that are not aware or don't care about their responsibility for supporting their own craft and their fellow authors when they oppose fanfiction.
There is the old saying "Your freedom ends where someone else's freedom begins.", but it does not apply to fanfiction authors. A fanfiction never limits the freedom of an original author to do as they please with their work. But the full exploration of a story's world, the full utilization of its potential and the for society important ability of self-expression are being limited by an author who opposes fanfiction of their work. It is an infringement of freedom if an author of an original story denies another author to write fanfiction of their work.
Writing fanfiction is freedom. But forbidding fanfiction based on one's own work would be a needless act of tyranny and oppression.
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A thing that probably every author hopes for is that fanfiction of their work is written well. But every author has started somewhere, no renowned author has begun as a writing genius, and thus, every author who is true to themselves will understand the need for practice and learning. And for those true authors, it would be the most prideful thing to see a rookie author who is learning how to write great with the help of the characters in their stories.
Don't be shy to start and to hone your abilities. You have great stories to tell with the characters and worlds you know and I am sure that, with enough practice and hard work, you will make the authors of the original stories you write fanfiction for proud. Let nothing and no one discourage you from reaching that goal.
Ah, dude, I'm a little saddened that there won't be another chapter of The Spark. Well, some good things must come to an end eventually.
With that aside, you did give me an interesting idea for a multiverse fanfiction! You see, for quite a while I had been thinking about an anthology story that includes an organization bent on exploring the multitude of universes through the cosmos. One major difference that separates this organization from the rest, however, is that it's Christian. This institution is filled with people from most denominations, such as Roman Catholicism, Southern Baptist, Lutheranism, etc. Basically, think of the SCP Foundation except it's religious, doesn't contain monsters, and has the technology to enter into another dimension.
I'm still debating on some of the basics, such as God’s existence as either the creator of the multiverse or something else, and how to explain the organization’s multiverse-hopping technology and the different rankings and divisions within it. But I have to say, thanks a lot for writing all of those multiverse, mega-crossover fanfics in the past! I believe they were the “spring” that got me interested in the idea of a multiverse anthology story. I’m still not finished with the one you wrote during the pandemic, but I do hope that I can finish it at some point.
May Jesus bless you and those you hold dear!
-Davidtin, a follower of Jesus, an enjoyer of the post-apocalypse genre, and a lover of ponies and cuddler of ponies. I’m-totally-not-ripping-this-out-from-under-you-lol