“[It’s] everything, life, the world,” freshman Avery Swank said about fanfiction as he doodled down on a piece of paper.

Fanfiction, by definition, is, “fiction written by a fan of, and featuring characters from, a particular TV series, movie, etc.”

There are millions of  fanfiction stories out there, ranging from adventure to romance that follow the lives of Harry Potter, Doctor Who and even Marvel Super Heroes.

Swank has started to write fanfiction on a writing platform called Story Wars, a safe writing community that allow writers to collaborate and communicate different theories, ideas and stories.

Swank, although young, has written many stories focused on the post apocalyptic world of Tokyo Ghoul, a anime series that is set in a time when “ghouls” are walking earth and eating human souls. While Swank prefers to write about the world of Tokyo Ghoul, he creates new characters and plotlines.

“[Writing fanfiction] is entertaining, it takes me places,” Swank said. “ It takes me to the story; I can imagine myself there.”

Swank has written a total of 78 stories on Story Wars, and has over 180 followers that return to dutifully read his stories. While Swank is discovering what it means to be a writer in the world of fanfiction, Senior Tina Esteph is recreating scenes and characters and giving a new medium in fanfiction: art.

Esteph is a veteran to the world of fanfiction, as she is a part of at least 7 fandoms. She considers herself to be in more but they are too, “obscure or minor to mention.”

Esteph has an unconventional style to her art, as she starts her rough drafts on paper, but then moves to computer design to finish out her stories.

“It’s easier to make the characters from various forms of animated media look correct than it is to try and replicate actual people,” Esteph said about creating fan art. “ There’s less pressure to make the art realistic-looking when it’s based on a cartoon in the first place.”

Esteph makes art as a way to get her creative energy out into the world, but likes uses characters because she can appreciate the personality that the creators have given the characters.

“I’m not particularly good at coming up with my own original characters, so [doing fanfic art] helps me get past this particular road block,” Esteph said.

Both fanfic artist Esteph and writer Swank have found their passions in creating a previously made up world by adding their own personal twist to it.