A professionally-published story that evolved from FanFic. This can overlap with SerialNumbersFiledOff, but it [[TropesAreNotBad is by no means necessary]]. The setting of the new work will often be suspiciously similar to the source material for obvious reasons, but the plots of the two stories can come out very different indeed.

On occasion, a fanfic becomes its own legitimate franchise without bothering to cut all its ties to the original, complete with its own fanbase outside fans of the original, with the blessing of the original work's copyright owners. In some cases, some fans may not even realize that it was a derivative work.

Compare the WeirdAlEffect, where fans of a derivative work forget the original existed. Also compare SpiritualLicensee, where a work didn't start as a fanfic but the end result is pretty much the same as this. See also HumbleBeginnings.

Contrast AscendedMeme and AscendedFanon, where derivative material is later incorporated into the canon material. See also SerialNumbersFiledOff.
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!!Examples:

[[foldercontrol]]

[[folder: Anime and Manga ]]
* ''NyoronChuruyaSan'' started from a {{doujinshi}}.
* The ''RecordOfLodossWar'' franchise began with edited accounts of a ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' campaign, quickly becoming popular enough to spawn its own [[RecursiveAdaptation game system]], novels, manga, multiple {{OVA}}s, and a television anime.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Literature ]]
* YoungAdult author Creator/CassandraClare started off as a [[Fanfic/TheDracoTrilogy fanfic author]] and later used lines from her own fanfics in her original work. On an unrelated note, some readers have noted that some of the phrasing in her works shows close similarity to past works by PamelaDean.
* ''Series/DoctorWho'' and Franchise/DoctorWhoExpandedUniverse examples:
** The fourth Literature/DoctorWhoNewAdventures novel, ''Timewyrm: Revelation'', with the Seventh Doctor and Ace, came out of a Fifth Doctor and Tegan fanfic published in a fanzine. Creator/PaulCornell expanded and changed quite a bit and made it into his first novel.
** ''The Highest Science'', an early NA by Creator/GarethRoberts originated as a crude fan story. It turned into ''his'' first novel. This, in turn, formed the loose basis for the television story "Planet of the Dead", which he cowrote with Creator/RussellTDavies.
** ''The Left-Handed Hummingbird'' by KateOrman had its basis on a short vignette which would later appear in ''Magazine/DoctorWhoMagazine'' as a prelude to the novel.
* ''The Literature/VorkosiganSaga'', was at a very early conceptual stage ''Franchise/StarTrek'' fanfiction; Beta Colony and Barrayar are reminiscent of the Federation and the Klingon Empire, respectively. Of course, it diverged away and became its own universe almost immediately.
* "Negri's Boys" by Charles Finlay, which was originally fanfic of Bujold's work, was rewritten with the serial numbers filed off as "The Political Officer". It was published in ''TheMagazineOfFantasyAndScienceFiction'' and nominated for the [[HugoAward Hugo]] and NebulaAward.
* Similarly, this is Naomi Novik's origin story for the ''Literature/{{Temeraire}}'' series:
--> "...it was started on January 8, 2004, about ten days before I sat down to write a different fantasy AU story and suddenly went, you know what, this isn't so much FanFic anymore, and these aren't [[Literature/AubreyMaturin Jack and Stephen]], ("[[Music/TalkingHeads this is not my beautiful house]]") and off I went to frolic with dragons."
** Novik's Literature/SherlockHolmes [[http://yuletidetreasure.org/archive/75/commonplaces.html fic]]-[[http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1597801607/ref=s9_simi_gw_s0_p14_t1?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=center-2&pf_rd_r=1AJS25W8CVGSMNHEZXR9&pf_rd_t=101&pf_rd_p=470938631&pf_rd_i=507846 turned-published-pastiche]], Commonplaces, is another example.
* HarryTurtledove's ''Literature/{{Videssos}}'' cycle began as Fourth Age ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfic.
* ''Literature/FiftyShadesOfGrey'' used to be a Twilight fanfic named ''Master of the Universe''. (Not in any way related to He-Man.) Similar examples of "pulled to publish" fanfics plague the Twilight fandom: [[http://www.sharetermpapers.com/general-b35/twilight-fanfiction-13292/90/?PHPSESSID=9e62d70df2aa96e733031d7e70f5b498#msg115742 here is the list]].
* ''Devil's Brand'', Casea's Major's thinly-veiled work of ''Fifty Shades'' fanfic, making it an ascended fanfic of an ascended fanfic!
* [=Dennis L. McKiernan=]'s {{Mithgar}} novels (''The Iron Tower'', ''The Silver Call'', ''Hel's Crucible'') started off as ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' fanfic. Doomsday wanted to publish. Tolkien Estate said "no". Changing the names and filing the numbers off for the "Silver Call" duology required inventing a new backstory of a great war against evil to replace ''The Lord Of The Rings, and thus the Iron Tower trilogy came about. The rest of the series grew more divergent from there, but the Moria-analogue in those first books is unmistakable.
* ''Series/StarTrekTheOriginalSeries'' examples:
** Some (most?) of the ''Star Trek: The New Voyages'' anthologies came from stories originally published in fanzines.
** The 1983 tie-in novel ''Killing Time'' by Della Van Hise was and still is thought to be originated as SlashFic about Kirk and Spock. The truth is, according to author Della Van Hise, the original printing was from a non-proofed, and therefore "not approved by Paramount" manuscript accidentally sent to the printer. Creator/{{Paramount}} discovered this and [[ExecutiveMeddling ordered the first printing run pulped]][[note]]but didn't get them all; hunting out first-print editions of the novel is a popular hobby for K/S fans at used bookstores[[/note]]. An edited second printing came out shortly thereafter wherein most changes were minor single sentence or word changes designed to reduce the subtext. But this led to unstoppable rumors that an original K/S version of ''Killing Time'' exists. The author says, "There is no such manuscript."
* ''Literature/DivineBloodNovels'' was originally a MegaCrossOver fanfic of several anime (most notably RanmaOneHalf, LightNovel/FullMetalPanic, and Manga/AhMyGoddess) which eventually developed enough mythos and themes of its own that the author decided to [[SerialNumbersFiledOff file off the serial numbers]] on the characters and make it into its own novel.
* Many small-press lesbian fiction novels were originally part of the [[XenaWarriorPrincess Xena]] uber-genre, meaning the characters had different names and backstories but were archetypally the same as Xena and Gabrielle. Tall, dark-haired, bitter woman meets sweet, good-natured blonde, and romance ensues? It just might be an uber.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Mythology and Religion]]
* Lancelot of the [[KingArthur Arthurian legends]] came by way of French storytellers. Percival was an OC. It could even be said that the entire Arthurian Canon is, in its own way, fanfiction.
* The Harrowing of Hell story has been considered canon for almost as long as Christian teaching has existed. Why "almost"? Because it's actually a story that a bunch of theologians came up with about a century and a half after the events.
* OlderThanFeudalism: ''Literature/TheAeneid'', widely hailed as the first work of literature ever and the model for much that came after, was basically a PerspectiveFlip {{fanfic}} continuation of ''Literature/TheIliad''.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Tabletop Games ]]
* ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'' is something of a strange case. The game borrowed heavily from Creator/JRRTolkien (and a few other fantasies, such as Creator/JackVance's ''Literature/DyingEarth'' series, Creator/PoulAnderson's ''Literature/ThreeHeartsAndThreeLions'' and Creator/FritzLeiber's ''Literature/FafhrdAndTheGrayMouser'' series), as well as various more obscure mythologies, but had many unique elements as well. The franchise owners have ended up splitting the game rules into "trademarked material" and "open source material", and encourage others to develop derivative material based on the open source components. In addition, the owners have also licensed derivative settings that have gone on to become book or video game series enjoyed by readers who aren't necessarily fans of the pencil and paper game, including ''DragonLance'', ''{{Greyhawk}}'', ''ForgottenRealms'', ''{{Planescape}}'', ''{{Ravenloft}}'' and ''{{Spelljammer}}''.
** ''Franchise/TheElderScrolls'' setting was originally a home-brew ''Dungeons and Dragons'' module.
*** Ditto for ''Literature/MalazanBookOfTheFallen'', which originated as the two creators' home-brew setting.
** ''RhapsodyOfFire'' based epic storylines of their songs on their D&D campaing.
** ''ForgottenRealms'' were born as a setting ''before'' voluntarily going under ''TabletopGame/DungeonsAndDragons'', though fleshed out mostly after. Whether basic (''{{Greyhawk}}'') rules were more of inspiration or problem is up to Ed Greenwood -- he both constantly kicked them aside and used new edition change for the "Time Of Troubles" overhaul.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renegade_Legion Renegade Legion]]'' was originally set in the ''Franchise/StarWarsExpandedUniverse''.
* ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/After_The_Bomb After the Bomb]]'' was originally created for ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' 'verse.
* The ''International Super Teams'' setting for ''{{GURPS}}'' had its genesis in an unused timeline and history written for a ''VillainsAndVigilantes'' campaign in which [[@/LooneyToons the author]] was a player.
* ''TabletopGame/Warhammer40000''
** [[http://1d4chan.org/wiki/The_Guy_Who_Cried_Grendel Castus Grendel]], the [[BadassNormal low-level acolyte]] who tried to [[HeroicSacrifice delay for one round]] a daemon that can eat SpaceMarine for breakfast and ended up [[SingleStrokeBattle decapitating it in one hit]] with a simple knife (and then dodging the fountain of its blood clean), purely on a blessing of RandomNumberGod... Heresy!.. GodEmperor. Then this hilarity continued to absurd degree and [[SerialEscalation beyond]]. Started as an amusing session report, ended up mentioned in {{canon}} material (the last link in that article).
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Video Games ]]
* Save for ''Videogame/{{Half-Life}}'', all Creator/ValveSoftware works were developed from fan mods:
** ''VideoGame/TeamFortressClassic'' is an official sequel to a ''VideoGame/{{Quake}}'' mod, which was ported to ''VideoGame/{{Half-Life|1}}'''s engine. As is VideoGame/TeamFortress2, by extent.
** ''VideoGame/{{Counter-Strike}}''? It was a ''Half-Life'' mod. So was ''Day of Defeat''. And ''Ricochet''.
** And ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'' was originally inspired by a zombie mod for ''Counter-Strike''.
** ''Videogame/{{Portal}}'' is a spiritual successor to a student's project ''Narbacular Drop'', and the gel mechanic in ''Videogame/{{Portal 2}}'' was developed from ''Tag: The Power of Paint'' (Valve hired ''the entire'' programming team of the latter).
** ''VideoGame/AlienSwarm'' and ''VideoGame/{{Dota 2}}'' also count, having originally been mods for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004'' and ''VideoGame/{{Warcraft}} III'' respectively.
* Similarly, ''VideoGame/UnrealTournamentIII'' has the Greed mode from the Titan Pack, (or [[UpdatedRerelease UT3 Black]], depending where you obtained the game) which started as a mod for ''Unreal Tournament 2004''. His creator, Mystikal, is now working for EpicGames.
** The Translocator in ''[[VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004 UT2003]]'' and later has a remote camera within the transport-destination disk. This idea was taken from "Translocam", a mod that added this functionality to the classic Translocator.
* Hours before the ''VideoGame/{{Doom}}'' modification WAD "Evilution" was set to be released, the creators, Team TNT, were emailed by JohnRomero offering a publishing deal. It ended up as half of ''Final Doom''.
** One of the most common types of mods created for ''Doom 3'' was the kind which removed the necessity to put away your gun when you wanted to use the flashlight. For the ''BFG Edition'', id made the flashlight a part of the player's armor.
* ''VideoGame/RedOrchestra'', ''VideoGame/KillingFloor'' and ''VideoGame/AlienSwarm'' were all originally mods for ''VideoGame/UnrealTournament2004''. The developers of the first founded Tripwire Interactive, who also published the second. The developers of the third were hired by Valve and eventually ported it to the Source engine.
** ''Killing Floor'' also tends to make some well-made custom maps official through patches.
* TowerDefense began as mods for StarCraft and WarcraftIII but later became a standalone genre.
* ''FallFromHeavenAgeOfIce'' was included in "[[VideoGame/{{Civilization}} Civilization IV: Beyond The Sword]]."
* ''TroubleInTerroristTown'' started as a simple game mode for ''VideoGame/GarrysMod'', but it went on to win the Fretta contest (a contest to see who could win the best gamemode using the new gamemode framework, called Fretta) and grew in popularity so much it now comes with the game.
* The "Fudge Pack" and "10th Anniversary" releases of ''VideoGame/{{Postal}} 1'' and ''2'' include the ''Eternal Damnation'' and ''A Week in Paradise'' mods for the second game.
* ''Tempest Tubes'' was a popular unofficial GameMod of ''VideoGame/{{Tempest}}'' that ended up being distributed officially by {{Atari}}.
* The original ''DragonQuest'' was a VERY thinly-veiled d20 game in the style of ''Dungeons & Dragons''.
* ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXMegaMan'' was a ''VideoGame/MegaMan'' fan game that eventually became officially endorsed by Capcom themselves.
* One of the most popular types of mods for multiplayer first-person shooters is "zombie mode". For ''VideoGame/CallOfDuty: World at War'', Treyarch decided to skip a step and just implement a zombie mode from the get-go - hence NaziZombies.
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Webcomics ]]
* ''{{Drowtales}}'' was originally a ''ForgottenRealms'' fanfic.
* ''[[DanAndMabsFurryAdventures DMFA]]'' was originally set in the ''{{Furcadia}}'' online chat-game-social-roleplaying...thing. So that would technically make it a fanfic. Early strips have a lot of reference to Roleplaying-terms, internet fads, ect.
* ''[[http://en.wikifur.com/wiki/Freighter_Tails Freighter Tails]]'' was originally called "Haul Trek", but the authors remade it, removing all the ''Franchise/StarTrek'' elements in the process.
* Whatever it might have become, it's fairly obvious from the first strip that ''LookingForGroup'' was originally a ''VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft'' comic. Things went full circle when the backers suggested a video game was made.
* ''AwkwardZombie'' had a [[http://www.awkwardzombie.com/index.php?page=0&comic=042009 strip about turning itself into an Ascended Fanfic]], but it turned out to be onetime gag and the series went back to using Smash Bros. characters.
** The author pulls strip ideas from the forums pretty frequently, and even has a thread for the purpose.
* ''ArthurKingOfTimeAndSpace'' is based on ''King Arthur In Time And Space'', which in turn was based on ''Franchise/StarTrek''[=/=]''Series/DoctorWho'' crossover fanfic cartoons with the proper names search-and-replaced (Arthur, Lancelot and Guenevere replacing Kirk, Spock and [=McCoy=]; Merlin and Nimue subbing for the Doctor and various companions).
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Web Original ]]
* In October 2012, a fan of WebOriginal/AtopTheFourthWall created a backstory for Longbox of the Damned's Moarte on Tumblr, where he was a famous magician that killed his rival to obtain the titular box. Lewis saw this post and liked this so much that he's considering making this the official origin of Moarte
[[/folder]]

[[folder: Western Animation ]]
* The GenderFlip episode of ''WesternAnimation/AdventureTime'' was based on WhatIf comics created by the show's character designer, which was in turn based on the Rule 63 images on 4chan.
[[/folder]]
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