I am releasing version 1 of http://fanfiction.moe
Ever since the ao3 issue, I have seen people wish for an alternative. Of course the meat proxies (vibecoders) came out in force with AI scraped BS and a million more size even some asking for payment. it's pretty fucked.
I am the creator of http://whentheycry.social and a software architect, I have been working as a dev for over 13 years now and coding since I was young. I wanted to take this opportunity to CODE a alternative, this is not a replacement for ao3, it is just an alternative with (I think) cooler features.
I also wanted to make it clear that this service had strong anti-AI scraping measures as best as I can; of course it won't be perfect to start with (using custom middleware's and Cloudflare), as well as heavy API rate limits, etc... so people can't just scrap every fiction with ease (it's not impossible, but I hope I made it such a fucking headache, it won't be worth it).
So, I've been building http://fanfiction.moe, a free library for fanfiction and original fiction, and it's now live. It has no adverts, no tracking cookies and no analytics scripts, and it never will either. the site is non-commercial.
It is a place to read, write and organise fanfiction and original fiction.
Fandoms are filed by kind (similar to ff net categories) anime and manga, books, comics, films, TV and games. The catalogue is filled in automatically from public databases such as AniList, Wikidata and Comic Vine; I spent great time and effort seeding the DB with over 400 thousand fandoms and characters.
but it won't be perfect, if you find dupes or weird shit, let me know so I can fix it, So most fandoms are already there before anyone writes for them. If yours is missing, you add it (and any missing characters) while you post, without waiting for anyone to approve it.
Alongside fandoms there are original universes, these are basically worlds that writers build on the site, each with its own lore, characters and stories. A universe can be left open to other writers, which means it works like a fandom of its own. Other people can write stories set in it and use its characters.
full transparency here about your work:
• Stories are never sold, licensed or used to train AI. Known AI crawlers are turned away, every crawler is told the pages may not be used for training, and every download carries the same notice.
• There is no quick way to scrape the archive. Lists and searches show summaries only, chapters are read one at a time, and anything reading far faster than a person can is slowed down and then stopped.
• Downloads are off unless the writer turns them on for their story.
• You can download a backup of everything you've written at any time, and restore from it.
Of course, this won't stop people saving your story, it is impossible for me to fully prevent it, but I can make it a pain in the arse.
reading fics:
• Browse fandoms by kind, then filter a fandom's stories by rating, language, genre, length, status, up to four characters, pairings, and what to leave out.
• Every fandom has a cast page, and every character's page shows who they're paired with and the stories they appear in.
• The look-up box finds stories, fandoms, universes and characters as you type, and advanced search has more filters.
• The reader picks up where you stopped, ticks off the chapters you've read, lets you change how the text looks, and can show a whole story on one page.
• Download a story as EPUB or HTML where the writer allows it. (import/export is untested lmao, so let me know)
• Hide Mature and Explicit stories across the whole site from your profile settings.
writing fics:
• Post fanfiction in one fandom or universe, or a crossover of two. Post an original story in one of your own universes.
• Tag up to four characters and pair them up, so readers can find that pairing and follow it.
• Import from Word, OpenDocument, Markdown, plain text, EPUB, AO3 downloads or your own backup. Imports come in as drafts.
• The posting form saves as you type, so you can close the tab and come back to it.
• Make a story members only, and credit up to five stories that inspired yours. Their writers are told.
• Put your stories into a series in reading order. Readers who follow the series are told when a new part goes up.
• A custom rich text editor with colours, fonts, etc...
OC's and Universes:
• A universe has Overview, Lore, Characters and Stories tabs. Each lore page is its own page you can link to and comment on.
• Original characters get a profile with a backstory, a picture and relationships to other characters.
• The owner decides whether other writers can use their universe, and each original character can be closed to other writers too.
Community:
• Kudos, and bookmarks with a note that only you can see, everyone can see, or that you recommend to everyone.
• Follow writers, stories, series, fandoms, universes, characters and pairings, all kept together on your Shelf.
• Comment on stories, chapters, universes, lore pages and characters, with GIFs, pictures and @mentions.
• Letters: private messages between members, with a setting for who may write to you, and blocking.
• Notifications when there's news about something you wrote or follow.
• Two-factor sign-in, and light and dark themes.
More coming soon, this is just the first version!
a fun example: Shipping your OC with someone else's OC:
This is a fun example on how universes can work with OC's.
if you've built a universe on the site with your own original character in it. Another writer has built their own universe with their own OC, and left it open to other writers. You want to write a story where your OC meets theirs, and ship them.
- Choose "Post a story" and pick "Fanfiction".
- Pick your universe as the fandom, and their universe as the crossover.
- In Characters, add your OC and their OC, and give them the same pairing number.
then the story is linked and connected and the story is listed in both universes, it shows up on both characters' pages, and the two of them now exist as a pairing that readers can find and follow from either character's page.
It works with any mix, too. Cross your universe with an anime or a book series and your OC can meet canon characters. Cross two fandoms the classic way. Or write in someone else's universe entirely, using their characters, the same way you'd write in any fandom.
You can follow universes, characters, or even shippings! so you can follow the shipping of Victorique x Kujo and get notified whenever someone makes a story with that shipping in it!
If a writer would rather keep their world or a character to themselves, they can close it, and nobody else can post with it.
It's free, there's nothing to buy, and you can read and search without an account. If you find a bug or have an idea, send me a letter on the site.
Please note: registrations currently are open to invite only. I am curious how much traction this gets and if the demand is there, if there is, I will open it open publicly.
Let me know if you want an invite code