Fan Fiction.
Some hate it, some love it. Some are good, some are absolutely shitty.
What is it, exactly?
Well, Crossovers are definitely fan-fiction. If I made Ai Enma from hellgirl a ghost-type pokemon trainer, or stuck Amaterasu and issun from Okami in, say, the Legend of Zelda, or pitted Ganondorf against Ansem, then that would be Fan Fiction.
Changing the established story around is fan fiction, certainly, particularly if a character is inserted into it. If, say, I took a side character like Kafei and had him accompanying link during the whole of Majoras mask, while massaging the plot to accommodate him, then that would be fan fiction.
Stuffing original characters into the existing story is fan fiction. If I rewrite the whole story of Hellgirl to include a water elemental cat, then I end up with fan fiction.
Insisting on pairings between characters who normally have little to do with each other is DEFINITELY fan fiction. If I wrote a story where Train Heartnet actually does get together with Creed Diskenth, then that would be fan fiction (of the Yaoi variety)

So what happens when I write stories running parallel to the plot of something, existing in the same universe but not following the plot at all? Or what if I write a story based on what happens in a MMORPG? Or what about a game that is so flexible has no solid characters or plot?

That’s what I do, really. I don’t trust myself with characters who aren’t mine, but I like using other settings and rules.

I mean, the pokemon universe is so vague and so malleable… I could create a believable pokemon easily. Reality and physics just doesn’t apply the same way.
So I play with it a little bit. I add depth to a shallow, open world. I broaden the universe it sits in. Its not just Deoxys, Palkia, and Dialga out there, you know. Even mystery dungeon can be fun to play with.

MMOs are my favorite ones to do, since its MY story anyway. The world is there, there are rules in place, and I can go live a story and interact with other people. Other players and NPCs are what make the story go around. All an MMO needs is character depth, and it’s a beautiful story.

Next favorite are the single-player games that are extraordinarily flexible. Its even more my own story than an MMO, and yet it relies on complex interactions with NPCs and the world. You can make quite a story from that.
Spore is a good example of this, and my Spore Chronicles is an example of that.

So are these Fan fiction?
Yes and no. A fan writes this fiction and places a story in an already set world. But if fan fiction is the manipulating of already existing characters, then what I write is NOT fan Fiction, but what I fantasize is.

So what DO I write? What do I call it?
Well.
I think I’m going to call my kind of fan fiction….
Uh…
Same-universe Fiction? Borrowed Stories? A Tribute?

Damn. I’m not sure. I’ll just call it Fiction.

What do you guys think?