Bad timing

Real Person Badfic? by op on 2015-03-23 18:17:00 UTC Reply

I know that this has probably been brought up before, but I was wondering about your opinions on real person badfic; for instance, it would be harder to tell if people were "in-character", because there isn't really a canon for you to orient yourself based off of, yeah?

But, I mean, obvious out-of-character things would be noticeable, right? Like, in this fic, I can tell that every member of Marianas Trench is pretty out of character, even without having met them in person. [cw for link: self-harm, drugs, eating disorders, food references, reference to p*rging, profanity, alcohol mention, ableist slurs (p**cho, cr*zy), hospitals mention, terrible POV switching].

(I'm not gonna lie, this post was a blatant excuse for me to link to that fic because I've read it more than ten times over.)

(I use they/them pronouns if you want to refer to me and/or call me out for being terrible.)

Personally, I won't touch RPF with a ten-foot pole. by eatpraylove on 2015-03-24 15:01:00 UTC Reply

I know at least some agents (Trojie and Pads) have sporked RPF before, but that was their choice. Given mine, I prefer to focus on fictional characters.

Also, hi, sorta-newbie! *high-fives* Have some popcorn, just in case you plan on sticking around!
Almost missed the new guy! by ratbrainbasher on 2015-03-24 08:59:00 UTC Reply

as for my gift... *riffles around in pockets* ah, here you are! The other half of that solid gold rolling pin!

And as for your question, we can't spork Real Person Badfic. Sorry. Or not sorry, given just how nasty that Lovecraft/Orwell story I read was. It made me who I am today.
Hey, a newbie! *hug* by domirossi on 2015-03-23 20:34:00 UTC Reply

... Why did I do that?
Anyway. Welcome aBoard! Please accept this... Wait, I think I'm out of Suvian spectrum flavouring.
So, uh, take these Completely Normal Pancakes. And they're homemade! ... Well, I was trying to make eggnog. But still!
Newbie? Newbie! *glomp* *poke* by Iximaz on 2015-03-23 18:21:00 UTC Reply

Hello there, and welcome aBoard! As a newbie gift, take this screeching pocket walrus! If the urple bow around its neck becomes too much, feel free to remove it. ;)

As for real-person fic, there's actually quite a few missions dealing with that, if you're interested in how that's been handled in the past.
We don't do that any more. by Scapegrace on 2015-03-23 18:21:00 UTC Reply

Haven't for a while. Sorry to disappoint.

Er... since when? by Huinesoron on 2015-03-24 15:40:00 UTC Reply

I don't remember that discussion happening... I know the Wiki says 'no longer handled by the PPC', but could someone refresh my memory of how that was decided?

hS

My recollection... by Neshomeh on 2015-03-24 15:58:00 UTC Reply

Or best guess, either way... Is that people felt that writing fanfic about real people—especially the slashy kind, which is mostly what came up around here since it was mostly Trojie doing the missions—is a bit creepy, disrespectful, intrusive, etc. Since we don't PPC other kinds of fic when we don't condone writing it in the first place (e.g. fics in quarantined continua and religious-text fic), it seemed like a bad idea to PPC this kind, too.

~Neshomeh

Maybe add it to the banned list as well? (nm) by Iximaz on 2015-03-24 16:02:00 UTC Reply

I wonder... by Neshomeh on 2015-03-24 16:13:00 UTC Reply

If it would make sense to make a distinction between writing about real people in their capacity as public figures vs. writing about their private lives. People do the former all the time for the sake of commentary, parody, etc., and that's basically accepted, even when it gets a bit ugly. It's the latter that gets really weird and gross and shouldn't be done, IMO.

Other opinions?

~Neshomeh

The one exception I would like to have by doctorlit on 2015-03-25 15:43:00 UTC Reply

is for historical figures doing . . . uh . . . historical stuff. Like, Sara did that one mission that crossed over 300 with the Battle of the Alamo, which involved Davy Crockett. It's a trollfic, so it's not a great representative of Crockett's behavior anyway, but my point is, his presence at the Battle of the Alamo is definitely something we know happened, and can handle that aspect of his life in a mission without questioning whether we got him "wrong." And there's always a chance of encountering AU versions of real people in some canons anyway, so . . . This got long-winded, but basically, it would be nice to do some historical stuff, never mind still-living/recently deceased people.

—doctorlit, who dreams of the chance to interact with Best President Theodore Roosevelt, even if just in a mission.

But Best President was obvs Herbert Hoover! by Scapegrace on 2015-03-25 22:00:00 UTC Reply

((srsly tho i will never understand the antipathy towards hoover everything fdr took credit for during the recovery from the depression was hoover's idea i am prepared to fight yo ass on this))

Hadn't really heard of that. by doctorlit on 2015-03-26 14:47:00 UTC Reply

But Trust-Buster Teddy is still best pres.
Bad timing by [EvilAI]UBEROverlord on 2015-03-25 23:51:00 UTC Reply

Hoover happened to be in office when the Great Depression hit. It does not matter what else was done, that alone would make him reviled regardless of anything else he did. I think there is also a question of how much of the recovery was FDR's New Deal and how much of it was World War II, wherein the US's factories were put into overdrive, not to mention the draft. I do not know the full numbers, but I suspect between those two things a great many of the unemployed were reemployed.

Personally I am more partial to Lincoln being the best President, though there are certainly good arguments for most of the presidents.

'Washington came first and he was perfect...' by Huinesoron on 2015-03-26 12:48:00 UTC Reply

John Adams kept us out of war with France
Jefferson made the Louisiana Purchase
In 1812 James Madison kicked the British in the pants

Jonathan Coulton had fun with this one. ^_^

hS

In my opinon, no. by World-Jumper on 2015-03-24 20:02:00 UTC Reply

The caricaturisation of real people is touchy, and can lead to a lot of fighting over how they would "really" feel and act. It is a touchy subject, one that I would stay far away from.

However, there is one exception for me. If you can somehow manage to get the person involved to help write the mission, then go for it. So, if you want to take down that Danny Sexbang and Ninja Brian slash fic you stumbled upon late at night, you better get Danny to approve it directly. Get an e-mail or something. And, seeing that getting any public figure to help kill a bad fanfic is not very likely, it would basically mean no RPF.

But can you imagine? Harry Styles systematically hunting down the Mary Sues that thirst for his band. That may be the best image I have had in my head for a while.
Real-people fic is just... by Iximaz on 2015-03-24 18:34:00 UTC Reply

I mean, how do you put it eloquently? It's just flat-out creepy when you see these stories about One Direction having an orgy or what have you. Makes me wonder what goes on in the authors' heads. It's one thing to do it to people who (as far as we know) are fictional, quite another to do it to people who exist.