The Way Some Of You Will Just Blindly Scream "that's Illegal!!" At Anything Without Actually Fact-checking

The way some of you will just blindly scream "that's illegal!!" at anything without actually fact-checking yourself beforehand 🥴

hi! just asking your opinion on RPF, i’m very very new to the proship/fanfic community and really don’t know how to feel abt it. i haven’t heard anyone’s takes on it so far so i’d love to hear your thoughts!

RPF is just another form of fiction. Its no different to any kind of other fictional literature, fandom space, creative action, ect. The people are, essentially, just characters. You're using them to tell a story.

A lot of people's issue with RPF comes into play because of individuals who ignore the proper etiquette behind RPF and ruin it for everyone. The general concern is that unlike fictional characters, real people are capable of seeing what you create and getting upset, offended or angry over it.

This is where its important to remember the following rules regarding RPF:

Never send RPF to the people whom it concerns, people close to them or people in reasonable contact with them. Personally, even if an actor has said they don't mind RPF about themselves, I wouldn't push it on them. Accepting something's existence isn't always the same as wanting to be invested or involved in it.

Similar to above, make sure you're not tagging them or using searches the person is known to frequent. (E.g; if you're posting ship art, don't tag the people involved.)

Where possible, keep RPF to closed-off websites like AO3 and Tumblr where the people involved would actually have to go looking for it in order to be exposed to it. (Sites like X are next to impossible to actually curate and monitor and are awful for this kind of thing.)

Ensure you are properly tagging and marking your content so in the instance it can't fully be prevented from reaching the person/people, they are explicitly aware of what it is. (Another reason why sites like Tumblr and AO3 are simply the best option.)

Anyone who is famous will be aware that there are people who view them and use their image sexually. Every single famous person knows this. In industries like kpop, even, bromances are actively marketed because they know its lucrative and sought after.

Famous people are also more than aware of how to avoid content they don't want to see. They're aware of sites like AO3 and know once they go there its a lawless (albeit well tagged) wasteland of hardcore smut and the unimaginable. They know if they don't want to see certain things they simply have to stay away from certain platforms, tags, key words, ect.

Famous people aren't helpless little ducklings accidentally stumbling upon twisted non-con fanfic of them and their colleagues on an hourly basis like some people assume.

Although RPF is just another form of fiction is does require a bit more respect, conduct and consideration. That's all.

I’m wondering, (this isn’t really Proship related, but I’m just asking around) if you’re more busy in your life, does that mean that you can’t enjoy fanfiction as much? I’m confused because I saw someone say that if you’re not engaging in fandom frequently you just kinda… drift out of it eventually??

Its not strictly a fandom or fanfiction matter where busy people often need to prioritize the things that consume their time. And unfortunately, hobbies are often sacrificed to make time for things that are more necessary or prominent.

In terms of fandom-based hobbies:

This can often lead to people feeling overwhelmed with having to catch up on everything they've missed in fandom spaces or re-inserting themselves into the community, or simply losing interest in a fandom for whatever reason. If you were only a casual fan of something beforehand, prolonged distance from it can more or less erase it from your mind for other things which are deemed more interesting or important.

It isn't a surefire thing, before you go feeling resigned about it. Plenty of people are capable of gravitating back and forth in fandom spaces, coming and going as they need to and never fully pulling away from the fandoms they enjoy. Its all down to the individual and who they are and what they have time for in the moment. Interests and priorities are always changing.

I'm a fairly busy person in real life, but I try to "graze feed" on fandom daily rather than trying to carve out chunks of time for it which may get interrupted or sidelined for other things (which can grow frustrating and lead to a lack of motivation.)

E.g; I'll scroll Tumblr on my phone while eating on my lunch break, or while I'm cleaning I'll have a TV episode playing so I can follow along as I go. While I'm going my skincare I'll have a podfic going, or I'll read some fic before sleeping as a "wind down" tactic.

Time management is frankly one of the largest things within our lives. We have a finite amount of it, and learning and choosing how to spend it is a universal experience.

This blog helped a younger me realize she was proship, because I agreed with everything and was like “huh maybe I don’t care about silly lego ships as much as my online peers made me think I did”.

I enjoy things in relative peace now :)

I'm so very honored I could be part of your journey. Experiences like yours are why I'm here.

I know this is probably a wild generalization, but I don’t know if I can be in a community if they’re gonna say it’s okay for an adult in their 20s to write erotic fanfiction about a REAL 16 year old and a 20 year old. I understand fictional characters, because they’re not real, but RPF of minors seems like another thing completely.

I'm personally not invested in or interested in RPF of minors, but frankly the literal core value of proshipping is simply not inserting yourself into what other people do in terms of fiction, so.

You can disagree with it all you like, it doesn't necessarily make you 'not proship' as long as you're not sending people hate or trying to tell them they can't do it. There are plenty of people who are proship who draw a personal line at RPF involving minors. I know people who enjoy RPF of all ages but draw the line at topics like non-con when it pertains to those people/ships.

If it makes you feel any better, the anti community also, in a wild generalization, weaponizes rape videos and literal child pornography, believes in doxxing and stalking, supports suicide baiting and hounding.... Really, on each side there's the bad and ugly. Being proship doesn't strictly mean you enjoy or even condone or are invested in common themes and subjects under the 'protection' of the label. You're not a more morally clean or good person for being on either side.

Being proship simply means you know they're going to do it, you at least somewhat respect their right to do it, and you're not going to tell them to kill themselves over it.

Which honestly, feel like pretty basic requirements of critical thinking and human decency. As I said, I'm not invested in RPF about minors, but I simply curate my online space so I don't see it.

(Also, RPF is fictional still. Its quite literally in the name. Real person fiction.)

I saw your post on no politics in fandom spaces and I let out a long sigh. Because I agree. We really need spaces that are free from real world politics. Like sure, art has politics, but don't debate it there. Or like, tag it. I donno. I just really want a fandom space that has 0 current politics. Because it's tiring and ruins fandoms when it becomes peppered with political landmines.

There are thousands of people on that post who are int he same boat as you, anon. The world is burning and we're all breathing in the smoke and a lot of us just want a breath of fresh air.

Its why I highly recommend taking the time and effort to really, really curate your online space and find spaces which fit what you need and want. Scour Discord servers. Trawl blogs until you find ones that fit what you want to see. Make friends who share the same needs and wants.

Its a lot of effort in the beginning, but it gets easier as you get better at learning how to find and identify what you want and curate your space so its more accessible to you. And it really, really pays off in the long run.