the deal with Real Person Fics: a debate(?)

so i was watching youtube (as one does) and there was a video where this person read REALLY terrible nct fanfiction. like, (advance warning) baby cow hybrid jaehyun, as if baby cow hybrid jimin wasn't enough.

anyway, the comments were all very very exaggerated reactions (or maybe i simply do not emote). ppl were shocked that these things existed and were so bad, but like... ngl i've seen worse. so it's either i'm way desensitized to it, or these ppl haven't seen Real Go Down.

 

there was also a comment about aff that unnecessarily made me mad. it was smth like 'i found out about a fanficition site called ASIAN fanfics... like wtf.' and ppl were agreeing like 'omg yeah that's so bad wtf', 'everything on asianfanfics is super bad with bad english and ' and i just got unnecessarily mad at that because we all know that aff isn't like that. or at least, the majority of us aren't like that. and ppl criticizing the name fail to realize that kpop is... asian? so asianfanfics as a name for a primarily-kpop fanfic community does, in fact, make sense and is not weird?

 

anyway i brought this up to my friend who pointed out that most ppl do find RPF (real person fics) a bit weird since the subjects are, indeed, real people. to which i argued (in my head) that there is a certain degree of creative liberty that one can take, even with RPF, and the line really does differ for everyone. some ppl write to release emotions, or to experiment, or to point out certain social issues.

i do totally understand that it can be taken weirdly if it's smth like baby cow hybrid jaehyun, or if graphic r*pe, or smth like that, and there definitely is a line that shouldn't be crossed. but the way i take it is that, as long as you're not treating the subject as Their Legit Personality (you know what i mean? like a delulu who thinks just because their idol said 'i love you' to the camera that the idol actually loves them as a person), then the subject is only a fictional character.

it's hard for me to explain but i think that, since idols put on a certain personality or only present certain facets of themselves to the public, there's no way we can know them well enough to form a true and accurate representation of them. everything we write (or everything i write) about them is filled in with other things: fanon personality, my own interpretation of why they reacted in such a way, pure speculation, etc. in that way, they're very emotionally distant from me and more like a character than a true person.

it's a little bit like watching a TV show, but with idols as the actors acting out their idol personality, if that makes sense?

 

so i guess i wanted to stir up trouble debate this topic and hear what everyone else had to say about it. like a true academic (says, not doing work). but if you are going to comment, pls do so in a calm and collected manner. if not, take this as just rambling because i haven't been doing anything like a true procrastinator and of course have to waste time doing something useless.

Comments

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meowzwrites
#1
I think RPF is okay but since you’re writing about real people, the story has to be realistic and not like, as you said, baby cow hybrid jaehyun. Also you should be respectful to the person you’re writing about and not write anything problematic / triggering.
asianh3rO #2
The issue I had in that video is that, it was to show how real person fanfic are problematic but like the ones they showed don't have a lot of views to begin with. It's like play stupid games, win stupid prizes.
CapriquariusMei
#3
Aw...hope you're feeling better soon. I don't really have an argument from the other side to offer as I do agree with most of what you have written here. I think at the end of the day, writing is writing is writing...it doesn't matter what kind of stuff people write as long as it doesn't harm anyone and that people can tell from reality vs. fiction. Writing (regardless if it's about RPF or not) is similar to say...playing a classical piece on a electrical guitar or play a trendy pop music piece on a Chinese zither. It's all creativity at the end of the day.
Skyful_Poof
#4
ahhhh
that hurts!!
:(
there are some amazing writers on aff that i really admire and respect :(
i wish they wouldn't just judge the whole site like that
(yikes this makes my stories feel weird T.T even tho i put my best effort in them!!)
and yeah, i get what u mean. the way i personally write my stories is that i basically just use their name and appearance? most of the character traits are just my own interpretation and development that would fit the story's plot (but there are some key characteristics that are akin to their real interests and hobbies and skills)