When the average population thinks about “fan-fiction,” we think of the good old days of when One Direction kidnapped us so we could go on tour with the boys and hopefully fall in love with one of the members (Zayn was my favorite). Though modern fan-fiction has been around since the 1960s (thank you Star Trek fandom, very cool!), fan-fiction has always been authentic in the sense of what the writer would like interpreted as “canon” or “what-should’ve-actually-happened-in-the-media.”

Fan-fiction is a wide and complex subject. If I were to go into detail regarding every single trope, alternate universe (AU), and ship…we would be here for a very, very long time. In order to keep things short and sweet, I will be discussing the generalities a fan-fiction usually follows and how it relates to the course of Doppelgängers and Doubles. If you have any further questions, please feel free to email me at iman.shoaib-1@ou.edu. Anywho, lets get cracking!

When we read fan-fiction, we usually interpret the fics as an alternate to canon, which means “what if this happened instead of this, also what if the characters were in a different universe compared to the ones they are currently in.” The writer gives their own interpretation, their own spin on a piece of media they enjoy. In other words, the writer is duplicating a piece of media in their own words, and interpreting how they want the media to be interpreted; whether that be shipping two characters, having an alternate ending compared to the canon ending, or even inserting original characters/self-inserts in hopes to get with their favorite, fictional crush. Writers divide the line between what is “real” and what is “false” and create a blend of imagination and originality, doubling the original media into the interpretation of the audience.

The doubling of media via fan-fiction has expanded our horizons in published, original media. For example, if it weren’t for Twilight fan-fiction, we would have never had the beloved series, 50 Shades of Grey. Even if 50 Shades of Grey is not your cup of tea, the point still stands: the doubling of media will create a butterfly affect… opening portals in literature you never knew existed (or wish they hadn’t been opened up in the first place).