Archive of Our OwnArchive of Our Own (AO3) is a nonprofit, open-source repository for fanfiction (fanfic) and other fanworks contributed by users. The site was created in 2008 by the Organization for Transformative Works. As of 18 September 2026, Archive of Our Own hosts over 18,470,000 works in over 82,900 fandoms, including those related to real people.
Fan fictionFan fiction or fanfiction, also known as fan fic, fanfic, fic or FF, is fiction typically written in an amateur capacity by fans as a form of fan labor, unauthorized by, but based on, an existing work of fiction and/or real people with a cultural presence.
Fan laborFan labor, also called fan works, are the creative activities engaged in by fans, primarily those of various media properties or musical groups. These activities can include creation of written works (fiction, fan fiction and review literature), visual or computer-assisted art, films and videos, animations, games, music, or applied arts and costuming.ViddingVidding is a fan labor practice in media fandom of creating music videos from the footage of one or more visual media sources, thereby exploring the source itself in a new way. The creator may choose video clips in order to focus on a single character, support a particular romantic pairing between characters, criticize or celebrate the original text, or point out an aspect of the TV show or film that they find under-appreciated.
Fan activismFan activism is the effort of a fan community to raise awareness of social concerns or otherwise support the ideals expressed by objects of the fandom. The rise of fan activism has been attributed to the emergence of new media. A 2012 quantitative study by Kahne, Feezell, and Lee suggests that there may be a statistically significant relationship between youths' participation in interest-driven activities online and their civic engagement later on in life.
Transformative useIn United States copyright law, transformative use or transformation is a type of fair use that builds on a copyrighted work in a different manner or for a different purpose from the original, and thus does not infringe its holder's copyright. Transformation is an important issue in deciding whether a use meets the first factor of the fair usetest, and is generally critical for determining whether a use is in fact fair, although no one factor is dispositive.
Real person fictionReal person fiction or real people fiction (RPF) is a genre of writing fan fiction, but featuring celebrities or other real people. Before the term "real person fiction" came into common usage, fans came up with a variety of terms, which are still used for specific genres or cultural practices in the RPF community; for example, bandfic, popslash, or actorfic.
Anime music videoAn anime music video or an Animation Music Video (AMV) is a fan-mademusic video consisting of clips from one or more (usually Japanese) animated shows or movies set to an audio track, often songs or promotional trailer audio. The term is generally specific to Japanese anime, however, it can occasionally include footage from other mediums, such as American animation, live action, or video games.
Nonprofit organizationA nonprofit organization (NPO), also spelled non-profit organisation in British English and known as a non-business entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization (NFPO), or simply nonprofit, is a non-governmental entity that operates for a collective, public, or social benefit, rather than to generate profit for private owners.Fan artFan art or fanart is artwork created by fans of a work of fiction or celebrity depicting events, character, or other aspect of the work. As fan labor, fan art refers to artworks that are not created, commissioned, nor endorsed by the creators of the work from which the fan art derives.
SNAFUSNAFU is an acronym that is widely used to stand for the sarcastic expression "Situation normal: all fucked up". It is an example of military acronym slang. The phrase "all fucked up" is sometimes replaced with "all fouled up" or similar. It means that the situation is bad, but that this is a normal state of affairs. The acronym is believed to have originated in the United States Marine Corps during World War II, particularly as the nickname of USMC Corporal Merriell Shelton.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.