Fantasy Characters or Real People?

[madlodger]

I was replying to Pixagi's topic called: Self-Insertion *cough, cough* and it got me thinking.

in my mind there is a line between Fantasy and Reality. For example, I love HP Fanfiction about Harry and Draco but not Fanfiction about Daniel and Tom Felton. (That would make a great Poll!)

Quoting myself, yeah

The other day I was reading some fiction on LJ and came across a fic about Bill Kaulitz (front man of Tokio Hotel) and Gackt. In the story, Bill gives Gackt his virginity and Gackt bites him and turns him into a vampire. That story was well written but it gave me this creepy feeling. They ARE real people, after all; Bill is going to be 18 in September.

At the same time, I would of loved to read a similar plot about Harry Potter and Draco Malfoy, for example. (Not about Daniel and Tom, though). I would of liked the same fic about Fictitious members of Fictitious bands as well.

It feels wrong to me to slash Real People. (Or to write any sort of pairings about them, really)

Many authors feel differently about that and write about actors, sport stars, band members etc. I'd like to know their views on the topic

IS THERE A LINE BETWEEN FANTASY AND REALITY? AND WHERE IS IT EXACTLY?

EDIT: I'd like to specify that all Original Characters fall in the category of Fantasy.

[Guest Alien Pirate Pixagi]

When it comes to reading fan fiction about celebrities, I don't do it. It kinda wierds me out.

However, I seem to have no issue reading about Pollywolly, Nanaea, Madapple, and Dazz getting it on in Mary-Sue Virus. Perhaps I'm just odd like that... but I do recall that one of the reasons I never participating in the Orgy (besides not being able to really think up anything good for it) was the fact that it weirded me out reading sex scenes about people I interact with on a regular. So... yeah...

Perhaps it's because MSV is not posted on the forum, so I don't think of the Sues actually doing the things they do in the book... hrmmm...

Self-Insertion *cough, cough*

...Spazz

[madlodger]

Orgy is a different ball game, everybody agreed to be in it, so it's fun. Orgy members are all writing their own Orgy chapters and communicating on discussion boards. It's the same with Mary-Sue Virus, right? So these things are pretty normal to me.

Celebrities never agreed to their names being used that way, though.

...Spazz   

[Nanaea]

I picked "Other" simply because my answer is complicated.

I read and write mainly about fantasy characters. I was actually going to choose that answer when I remembered The Orgy and the Mary-Sue Virus.

I read a Phelps twincest story once (by accident - don't ask), and I felt very conflicted afterwards. On one hand it was arousing, but on the other it sorta squicked me. I thought I'd never write about real people, and then The Orgy happened. I also happened to remember a story that I wrote with my best friend when I was in high school that involved the two of us going to a concert, meeting the band, and ending up living happily ever after in true fairy-tale fashion.

I have to agree with Pixagi about being weirded out about writing (and reading) smut involving fellow board members, but I rationalized it several ways - It's excellent writing practice, it's consensual, and it's all based on our alter egos (which are kinda like fictional characters anyway). After a while, it ceased to feel weird. As far as the Mary-Sue Virus, those are fictional characters, which are based on aliases, so it's even further removed from the realm of real people.

I have written a true self-insertion piece as well (for the forum's anniversary contest). So where does that leave me? Somewhere in the gray, morally ambiguous area I suppose.

[redsliver]

I read and write both based on whatever entertains me most.

I don't read celebrity fanfiction and I haven't even got into the Mary Sue Virus, when I read or write about real people its usually not fictional and almost certainly not related to or on this site anyways.

[Leonhart29]

I had to vote for reading and writing both. I don't write about Celebrities unless it's on the Orgy - and I don't read it anywhere else either. I will read a fantasy book and then pick up a biography or a true crime novel. Like Red I read and write what fascinates me - nothing more - nothing less. If I'm going to write about a real person though it will be in the form of a biography not fan fiction.

[dazzledfirestar]

Before the Orgy, I'd never written a word about a real person... but my rational on that is the same as Nan's. It's kind of a degree or two seperated from our real selves. The Mary Sue Virus is the same kind of thing only a few more degrees out there.

[Kyouryoku Senshi]

I remember being in an X-Files group a while ago and have seen on different sites people writing about Gillian Anderson and David Duchovny having kids together. I think I might have done an instant messenger role play using Robert Patrick and Annabeth Gish, but I don't see much point in writing about real life people.

[Iggy_lovechild]

Now mind you I used to read real-person slash when I was high school. Sort of.

I mean, I didn't like the fics about the actors getting it on, that was just weird, but I had nothing about fics that were pretty much original aside from the fact that the characters' appearences were heavily based on particular actors. Does that make sense? Well, it did on certain sites I used to haunt.

Anyway, these days I prefer writing and reading about fantasy characters. I don't even really like writing about TV or movie fandoms much anymore because it's like...sure I might be writing about Buffy and Spike getting it on but aren't I also kinda picturing Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters (sp?) as well. My brain wasn't very good with those tricky distinctions.

[madlodger]

Nanaea -

Phelps twincest story

I've seen a few and couldn't bring myself to actually read them. I've seen something a bit more disturbing than a fic recently. I was loitering on YouTube looking for latest on Tokio Hotel. Guess what, there are TONS of videos about Bill/Tom (identical twins, 17, lead singer and gutarist). Those videos contain some explicit artwork, manips and suggestive bits cut out of normal vids. Seeing that really irked me, I'll tell you. Not even because I dislike incest, but the fact that so-called "fans" would spend hours to come up with something so intrusive which isn't even true.

a story that I wrote with my best friend when I was in high school that involved the two of us going to a concert, meeting the band, and ending up living happily ever after in true fairy-tale fashion.

That gave me a flashback! I had a band fantasy as well, it was an underground rock-band; The premice of that fantasy was me meeting with a lead singer and him being dazzled by my lyrics. Like, the band was in a creative slump and my lyrics were 'IT'. They wanted those lyrics pretty bad, the rest of the story is X-rated. Never written on paper but it was a good wanking material

I suppose that most people go through "The Band Fantasy" thing and "The Mary-Sue" one at some point. They are pretty similar.

redsliver -

when I read or write about real people its usually not fictional and almost certainly not related to or on this site anyways.

Well, biographies are different from fanfiction. Sports and music journalism is so-so, some of it is a bit inflated. At least in sports we have stats and in music - charts. If the song is in top ten then it's probably a bad one, hehe. I am a fan of numbers in those cases.

Leonhart29 - Sounds pretty reasonable.

If I'm going to write about a real person though it will be in the form of a biography not fan fiction.

I hope that it would come true one day. Writing Biographies seems like a hard work, though. Collecting all the facts, verifying their accuracy and stringing that staff toghether. I am not sure if all Bios are 100% true either.

dazzledfirestar - See how the good girl got corrupted by AFF Orgy

Kyouryoku Senshi - They actually written about actors themselves, not their characters from X-Files, right? That's exactly the thing that irks me. The same story with Fox Mulder and Dana Scully would be better in my book.

Iggy Lovechild -

I might be writing about Buffy and Spike getting it on but aren't I also kinda picturing Sarah Michelle Gellar and James Marsters (sp?) as well. My brain wasn't very good with those tricky distinctions.

It might be because we don't see actors without being all made-up. If we'd take SMG for example, wash off all make-up and hair-due and look closely, then she most likely would be different from Buffy. Still nice, but tired from getting up at 5:00am and having a 15 hour work day. JM might not be her type in real life either. But, since he is playing the rebelious vampire, people project that image into a real person. It's pretty complicated, really.

I am glad that you are into fantasy now

I'd like to express my opinion on MSV and Orgy, since so many people refered to them:

MSV is a good story and I hope to read the entire thing at some point. It involves real people and characters from HP universe. All real people from this fic have agreed to be in it and have different names in the story. And the story is a parody.

MSV is totally OK!

The Orgy is involving real people who all agreed to be in it as well. All names are not real either. That would make it OK as well exept... We had some celebrities involved, Alan Rickman and Jessica Simpson and perhaps, some others. Well, the line was crossed at that point, at least in my book.

AFF Orgy did cross the line, sorry to say that. It's not a bad thing, just a thing to take notice .

[wandaXmaximoff]

I point blank refuse to read or write about real people, but maybe that's just me. To me, writing about celebrities in these sexual situations is wrong, their lives should remain private.

However, both in fan fiction and fiction, I am inspired by celelbrities. I've wrote a few fan fictions with sexual content, which contained 'character'. However, like with my wresting story, I was using the wrestlers' 'on-screen' personas and not them in reality. Therefore, I made up their families etc.

If I was ever inspired to write fiction about an actor/celebrity, I'd just base it on them, and create my own name for that chracter etc.

However, I have no issue against people who do read/write about real people. Each to their own I say, it's just not my thing.

[madlodger]

If I was ever inspired to write fiction about an actor/celebrity, I'd just base it on them, and create my own name for that chracter etc.

This is the best approach yet. That would actually make the story a true original. It should work with the fics where an author wishes to write themselves in as well.

[Jadwin]

I'm assuming that by "Fantasy," you just meant it as a complete catch-all for any fictional character. I don't hardly ever write fantasy, but most of my stuff is based off of actually characters, although a few RP fics have weaseled their way into my archive.

RP used to bother me to the point that I'd completely Larry Sanders it, but I've kind of gotten over that and I've found that it actually makes the story easier for me to get into. Somehow, changing everything really makes it less interesting somehow.

[Kanashii]

Well since I voted "Other" I will explain.

Since I do ALOT of Mafia, gangster, 'Godfather/Soprano' type stories there are OCCASIONALLY mentions of 'real characters' But the main characters of the stories are all 'fantasy/made up/OC's' however one of the main characters MAY mention something about Al Capone, or John Gotti etc.

Also since I mainly write original stuff, if there is a TV going on in the background it may be droning on about a current event (especially if one of my stories is set in the 50's, 60's or 80's) but again, none of these 'real life' characters are IN my story, they are just background reference.

But no, writing about REAL people, politicians, celebrities, etc as the main characters themselves holds no interest for me. However I guess for some folks who are FANS (fangirls? Fanboys?) of a certain celebrity I could see how they could write about that person.

For Legal reasons I would NEVER, ever, ever write about a real life person I knew. That's just opening a hornets nest. Since I DO know several 'connected' people and draw on their personalities for many of my mob stories, I make sure their names, locations and whatnot are so changed as to not be recognizable.

JMHO.

[SFC_Omicronus]

This is the best approach yet. That would actually make the story a true original. It should work with the fics where an author wishes to write themselves in as well.

When it comes to actors/celebs, I'd have to agree with Madlodger and wanda. But where would that go under in the vote? I'm assuming under Fantasy people only?

I had considered writing fanfiction involving actors and celebrities when I joined onto AFF, but thought better of it. I thought it would just be asking for flames.

I should note, though that the two SI fics I've written (I think we're all guilty of writing one at one point or another), I've never mentioned my real life name. I felt that not only does it add some level of anonymity, because they're written in the first person perspective, it gives me a chance to reveal myself safely.

...I don't know. I guess I'm starting to rant. Forgive me, I just got out of bed.

[shinigamiinochi]

I don't know, not only am i not interested in the lives of celebrities at all, writing about them seems like a strange mix of stalking/amateur porn/wishful thinking to me.