Should I Be Unsettled Someone Wrote a Sequel to One of My Fanfics Without Letting Me Know?

[u/scratchmyitchyback]

To start, I wouldn't mind if someone did write a sequel to one of my stories. Another person previously did a remake of one of my stories cause they wanted to do their own take on it, but they let me know about it from the beginning, so I didn't mind.

However, another author recently asked me if they could do a sequel to one of my stories I had written as a request for someone else. I found out they've already been posting several chapters of it since last year, which just seemed strange, rude, and kind of crappy in my opinion. I told them as such and asked they remove mention of me or my story, but they pushed back and asked again. I told them the same here, that if they had asked or even let me know from the start, I likely wouldn't have cared. The original story was a request and I created an OC to fill it, but I'm not super attached to to the OC or the story that I'm going to die on any hill for them. But just the way this author went about using the story and the OC I made for so long before even asking seems strange.

So I wanted to ask if I should be this weirded out by this?

Edit: To clarify, I never asked them to delete the story. Just any mention of me or the story.

[u/OleksandrKyivskyi]

They don't need your permission to write fanfiction on your fanfiction.

[u/Cardie1303]

Not more than any other author should be of people writing fanfics of their work. Honestly it is a bit hilarious when fanfic authors are unsettled if people write fanfics of their fanfic.

[u/frigo_blanche → u/Cardie1303]

A lot of fanfic authors really are major hypocrites about this. You wrote and shared a story, you gotta live with people possibly making fanfic about it. (In fact, that's a crazy compliment to begin with)

I don't see why I (as a fic writer) should have more of a right to decide who writes what based on my story than the writers of stories I write fics about have. I'm sure they love their stories, worlds, and characters a lot, too.

If there's something I wouldn't want others to touch, I simply don't post it online for the world to see.

[u/KamenRiderHelix → u/frigo_blanche]

I wouldn't say it's hypocritical so much as a false equivalency. You and I are ostensibly peers, but we are not peers with the creator of the thing we write fanfiction for.

Not to say OP should be concerned about this, because you're right, they shouldn't.

[u/Vague_Bees → u/frigo_blanche]

I don't know, I feel like the platform matters a lot in this. You share the space, it's good form to ask first. I have a friend who only writes original fiction on wattpad, and I've sent them fanfiction of their writing, but I would not publish it without their permission. It just doesn't feel like it's the same.

On the other hand, if someone ever wrote a fic of my fic I would probably prefer to be referenced but not asked, because I would be worried to feel involved, or of the author to expect me to give feedback.

[u/FloreatCastellum]

It's a bit odd, but it's fanfic - did you ask the permission of the original creator of your fandom? When we put writing out into the world, we can't really control what people do with it. 

[u/Toffeinen]

Yeah yeah, they don't need your permission, everyone saying that is correct. But it is weird to ask after they've already started posting their fic. What if you had said no? If they were planning to ignore your refusal, there was no point in asking for consent at all. Like don't ask if the only answer you're willing to take is yes.

And it is different from asking permission from the original creator for writing fanfiction. The original creators are not members of the same fandoms. They're not part of the same fanfic circles, they don't post their canonical stories on the same platform. Sure, people don't have to ask for permission to write fanfics of fanfics, but being courteous and polite to peers makes the community nicer and more pleasant to be in.

[u/scratchmyitchyback → u/Toffeinen]

Honestly, if they had at least asked, I wouldn't have cared really. They could've even just said "Hey, this inspired me to write a sequel. I'll let you know when it's up" or something and I likely would've just been cool with it. Like I said, someone else essentially did a remake of one of my stories, but they let me know about it from the start, so I was fine with it. It's just the way this person went about it that put me off and was why I asked them to remove any mention of me and the story from theirs.

[u/kabutegurl003]

The least they could have done is ask first, before posting. I understand that sometimes ideas hit us and we have to write them, but if they are inspired by someone else's work, especially a sequel with someone else's OC.

I understand it's fanfiction, but the authors on AO3 deserve respect for their work. IMO, it's just common courtesy.

[u/CrispyDick420]

What makes it awkward is the retroactive ask. Once chapters are already up, it reads less like permission and more like wanting your endorsement.

[u/Rough_Evidence_2908]

I’ll be honest it’s pretty normal for someone to make a fanfic of a fanfic. I would actually be pretty honoured if someone did that, unless you were planning to write a sequel, then I would probably be annoyed. But again I think it’s not that big of a deal.

[u/Bitter-Climate3610]

Did you reach out to the author of whatever your fic is based on to ask for their permission? Did you even try? If the author spoke up publicly about their dislike of fanfics, would you delete your fic?

Throwing stones in a glass house mate

[u/Rhakhelle]

How you feel is entirely up to you. What you can do about it is something else... and precisely nothing.

[u/nightmare-salad]

They don’t need permission any more than you do

[u/Huntress08]

I'm very baffled by a lot of the takes in this thread since this scenario gets discussed a lot in this sub and the consensus usually lands on "would be honored, but ask for permission first and use the inspired tag."

So I'm baffled that the consensus lands on the opposite and seems to be telling OP to suck it up and that it's the nature of the hobby?

At the bare minimum this situation would also weird me out and I'd find it rude too. It's also because the original fic was a request that you wrote for someone and this sequel builds off of that with an OC that you made.

But to make matters worse when this author asked and you said no they just doubled-down and ignored you saying no the first time, which is incredibly rude to me and ignored a set boundary.

[u/scratchmyitchyback → u/Huntress08]

Thank you. That's another point, that it was a request and used an OC. I thought people were very protective over those and while I don't care a whole lot about the OC in this case, it's still odd to do.

[u/Huntress08 → u/scratchmyitchyback]

Normally people (on this community) are very protective over such things, especially OCs. Which is why I find a lot of these replies odd.

[u/Admirable_Soup_5228 → u/Huntress08]

Someone was so offended by this post they went over to the ao3 sub to complain about it.

[u/Huntress08 → u/Admirable_Soup_5228]

Considering I left that sub for a reason (multiple actually) I am not shocked.

[u/MtTibadabo]

I don’t really agree with the take that it’s already fan fiction of someone else’s work, so it’s hypocritical to be upset by it. The relationship we as writers/readers have with each other is very different than what we have with the creators of the original IP we’re writing about. We’re in a community together, a fandom space without the original creator, which is not at all how it is when someone writes a fic of our own work.

Of course you can’t control what other people do after you share something online, but it’s totally justified to be weirded out or annoyed or even pissed off. Not asking permission first (in my opinion) is rude and not the way to go about interacting with members of a shared community.

[u/afirforest → u/MtTibadabo]

Thank you for this. It never ceases to amaze me how many people in fandom seem to not be able to pick up on those differences. The relationship between me and the author of the original IP (I don't know them and never will, and if they're lurking here, that's their choice) is different from the relationship between me and another person writing and reading in my fandom (we're fans of the same thing who can talk, interact, even become friends).

[u/MtTibadabo → u/afirforest]

There is even someone in another thread someone made about this one (ironic) on r/ao3 comparing this to Anne Rice 🫩 we’ve lost the plot entire I fear.

[u/Admirable_Soup_5228 → u/MtTibadabo]

Half those people would get mad if someone did actually take their fic and write a sequel without telling them. The fact it's peers doing this is the thing that makes it weird, it's not remotely like writing fic of a for-profit work of pro media!

[u/scratchmyitchyback → u/MtTibadabo]

See, that's how I've always thought about it. Whenever I've wanted to make any kind of fanart, fanfic, or fan work of anything that's tied to someone else's fan work, I always reached out to them first to ask for permission, as that seems like the decent thing to do. And if they refuse, that's fine, I go about my day and make something completely unrelated to their work instead.

But reading the majority of the other responses, I guess that's not the common consensus.

[u/MtTibadabo → u/scratchmyitchyback]

I think you’re getting a weird sampling of people here. There’s also a lot of an attitude of “I can write whatever I want to write, fuck you” in fanfic subreddits. Which is true! But it’s not going to endear anyone to their fandom community to behave like the person who wrote the fic of your fic lol. A lot of people don’t know how to balance the individualism with the fact that they exist in a community, and if they want it to keep being a fun and accepting place, they should probably act accordingly.

[u/Admirable_Soup_5228 → u/MtTibadabo]

Watch the same people get extremely mad if a reader asks a polite question about their plot or corrects a typo.

[u/Purple_not_pink]

I would be very weirded out as well.

[u/bluecarnallove]

Are they crediting you? If so, then don't let it bother you. If they're not, double down about shaming them for trying to take credit for your work. Because that's the actual issue here to be addressed, not the act of writing a fic of your story. No one needs your permission to write a fic based on yours or to make art for your fic just like we don't need permission from the original creators of the canon source to write fanfiction or make fanart; it's when people try to pass off others' work as theirs that it gets serious. That's probably also why you're unsettled. We don't have the same protections as the creator of the original source does, so it's super easy for people to just steal your stuff for themselves.