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dontasktheradiodemon · 3 years

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((that ask about fanfiction just made me wonder what would happen if someone wrote in-universe rpf about these guys. not curious enough to make a blog and write it but curious enough to imagine the like 400k deep character arc of alastor getting a cellphone and voluntarily logging into voxblr.))

((Oh believe me, every time someone tries to allude to the idea of someone making fanart/fanfic about Alastor to Alastor on this blog, I’ve gotta sit here and think about where to draw the limit between “sure that hypothetically makes sense given that RPF fanfic exists” and “nah you’re leaning too hard on the fourth wall”))

((The thing about RPF is that it’s never going to be based on what a person is actually like. It’s all always going to be about some constructed fictionalized character invented out of what a fan hopes that celebrity is going to be like, based off of what little bit of their personality and interior life they willingly share in interviews, social media, etc. Imagine the versions of yourself that you construct for mainstream public consumption—the version of yourself you wear at work to face customers, or the version of yourself you wear when you’re talking in class to teachers/professors, or the version of yourself that you put on Facebook where your extended family is watching—and ask how accurate that public-facing version of yourself is re: expressing your entire history, your interior life, your likes and interests and secret thoughts and feelings. You know, the stuff that a writer would need to know to fully write a fictional character. And when a fanfic writer doesn’t get that stuff from canon, they make up interesting headcanons. Your public-facing self is the “canon” that a hypothetical fanfic writer would be basing their headcanons off of. How much are they gonna get right?))

((And that’s the issue at the root of a vast majority of “characters discover RPF about themselves in-universe” concepts that I’ve run into in the past. For characters running into RPF of themselves to be true to a hypothetical real world experience of a celebrity running into RPF of themself, that character’s RPF has to be just... wildly fucking wrong. And I don’t just mean “humorous over-exaggerations of their real personality traits,” I mean WRONG personalities. I mean “I don’t know this guy’s background so I made up his entire childhood and INVENTED a tragic backstory for him.” I mean “I decided his five top hobbies, the three languages he speaks, and that he’s got a secret child somewhere.” You can easily invent a childhood for a character that doesn’t have one, but a real person always has a real childhood, whether you know anything about it or not.))

((As real fans of fictional characters, we’re privy to far more of a character’s private life than the fictional fans who know these characters as public figures, because we get to see the fictional media that produces these characters. And, more than that, as real fans who are writing both the fanfics about the characters AND the hypothetical in-universe RPF about these characters, the versions of the characters that exists in one writer’s head are going to be the versions of the character that inform both the fanfic and the RPF inside the fanfic. And so there’s going to be an inclination to make the in-universe RPF more IC than it would realistically be if you don’t stop and go “actually, whoever’s writing this wouldn’t know a goddamn thing about what this person is like.”))

((Plus, the way it’s written would be different. Generally, people don’t play with celebrities in RPF the same way they play with characters in fiction-based fanfic. There’s an even greater focus on shipping, primarily either “I want these bandmates/co-stars to be gay together” or else self-shipping/reader-insert content. You’re gonna get a lot less, like, character study sort of fic. A much greater portion of the fanworks are, like... celebrity crush daydreams in written form. Which, yeah, makes up a lot of fan works for fictional characters—but not to as high an extent. You don’t need to write a whole fic sharing your headcanon childhood for a real living person who HAS a childhood you just don’t know, you just sort of need to know that headcanon childhood for the daydream you’re writing that person into.))

((And finally—you’ve got to consider who gets RPF written about them. IRL, it’s almost exclusively entertainers. Movie stars, pop bands, etc.—and what’s more than that, entertainers that appeal to the portion of the population that writes fanfic (typically female) and the portion of the population less likely to go “it’s really weird to write about actual real life people like they’re characters I can just play around with” (typically younger)—so, entertainers in teen-oriented boy bands or actors in movies/shows that appeal to a large, feminine, young fanbase. Hazbin’s main cast contains two entertainers: Angel Dust and Alastor. Gay adult film star Angel Dust definitely appeals to a queer audience but is probably not drawing a young, female fanbase. Sure, out here in the real world he’s got a lot of young female fans—but how many 15-to-22-year-old fangirls do you know who have a passionate interest in specific IRL gay adult film stars? So Angel’s got a big fanbase but it’s probably not much of a fic-writing fanbase. Alastor is, more than anything, a former entertainer; and although he’s got female admirers, they seem to be restricted to the “stuck in the 1910s” part of town and thus probably not getting online to write fanfic. Plus those admirers seem to be people who know him personally, and usually the RPF that gets shared in public is written about celebrity strangers, not one’s own acquaintances. And those are the only two in the main cast that even come close to appealing to the usual RPF demographics.))

((And more importantly than the entertainer thing: Alastor is a figure of fear. Alastor is nearly-universally reviled. Out here in the real world Alastor is the perfect figure to draw a large loving fanbase because he is the perfect embodiment of the Tumblr Sexyman trope. But inside the Hazbin universe? In Hell? He’s basically equivalent to a mass shooter who gunned down hundreds of people and then was allowed to walk free because the cops were too scared to try to arrest him. His claim to fame is mass carnage. The one thing everyone knows him for is hurting as many people as possible. Doesn’t quite have the same broad popular appeal as a boy band that sings cute pop songs, does he?))

((Yeah, there are some folks out there that treat true crime like a fandom, write love letters to serial killers, etc.—but that’s a LOT more fringe than the majority of the people churning out RPF fiction. You don’t see common fanfic tags stuffed with mass shooter reader-insert fic the way you see them stuffed with k-pop reader-insert fic.))

((tl;dr: is somebody somewhere in Hell writing RPF about Alastor? Yeah, probably somewhere? He would be well-known enough that it would be weird if absolutely nobody anywhere with a taste for RPF happened to have a penchant for him. But the numbers are so low that it would be really weird for the phenomenon to get big enough that somebody would come TELL Alastor that he’s getting fanfic written about him; and what those fics look like would probably be so OOC & incorrect they’re barely even recognizable as Alastor because the fictional writers writing them wouldn’t have the out-of-universe insight into Alastor’s personality that we real world fans have.))

((Which is why even with “what about RPF?” if someone comes at this blog going “hey Alastor people are writing fanfic about you” my reaction is generally just to go “nah, you’re leaning on the 4th wall, we’re not doing that.” Because I don’t expect the average anon to put THIS MUCH THOUGHT into who would realistically be writing RPF about Alastor, how common it would really be, and what it would probably look like, and I don’t want to try to course-correct a bunch of anons acting like Alastor’s hypothetical fictional fanbase in Hell looks the same and writes the same as his real world fanbase.))

#anonymous #ask #ooc #((can you tell I’ve put a lot of thought into the logistics of this))

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noddytheornithopod · 7 years

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I was tagged by @fryferbfringefan44. Now, I have to post 10 characters from 10 fandoms. I’m gonna take some liberties here and bend the rules by not necessarily picking top faves, but faves nonetheless and characters I want to talk about that I don’t really get to in other memes. Be ready, I’m gonna use this to let off some steam. :V

1. Isabella Garcia-Shapiro (Phineas and Ferb): I can’t help but feel controversial here because while I’d hardly call her unpopular, I always get the feeling that most people either don’t care about her much or that the main reason they like her is because they ship her with Phineas (or Ferb, or some other character even). Meanwhile I’m sitting here cringing at my old Phinabella days, and am in that odd sliver that seems to really like her but don’t really focus too much on the Phineas aspect, even if I still have some dreaded Phinabella inside me I’m trying to suppress? I mean, I didn’t even realise she had a crush on Phineas until a year after I discovered the show (yep, I didn’t see crush episodes like how Linda never sees Phineas and Ferb’s inventions). So anyway, I just think she’s really damn cool. She’s hypercompetent like the rest of her peers, she cares about things that matter (in particular the Fireside Girls) as well as her friends, she’s not afraid to speak her mind (well, besides one thing), plus she’s funny, cute and while probably being the most “normal” out of Phineas and Ferb’s group of friends can still have her moments of quirkiness (just watch Return Policy or Face Your Fear, lol). I also find some of her flaws quite interesting, like a lot of her friends we actually see she cares enough about the Fireside Girls to the point where it has given her anxiety over potential failure, and sometimes she has a need for attention (I really like the episode where she’s competing with Candace over attention for Melissa the young Fireside Girl because of this). Granted her central character arc still revolves around Phineas and I understand why some don’t really care for that, but admittedly I like that kind of stuff too (in b4 “problematic fave” comments from people). On one hand I feel like we focused only on her crush at specific times and not nearly as much as some people make it out to be, but on the other hand her crush on Phineas is just super adorable? I think it might actually be because I kind of relate to her (I often remind myself of her at times admittedly, even if there’s other characters I’m more like XD), like there’s loads of characters that exist as love interests but Isabella actually managed to engage me probably because we actually followed her and her feelings instead of her just being some random girl for Phineas to try and impress (I guess I’m saying she was at least active in her own romance storyline, before then I had only really seen boys chasing after girls)? IDK if I’m making sense, but I guess I’m saying even if I think she’s able to stand on her own with her other attributes and is admirable in that regard I can’t help but really relate to the crush stuff too, which is maybe why I like her more than some people (and again, still not in the super shippy wants-her-to-be-with-Phineas-at-all-costs way). But yeah, as you can see I think Isabella is awesome and she’ll always have a special spot as a fave.

2. Jasper (Steven Universe): I choose Jasper because I feel like some people are being somewhat unfair on her? Like, I feel like some people are underestimating how complex she is and that she’s not going to be the “true villain.” Steven Universe never works that way, not even with characters like the Diamonds, you can even ask the writers and they’ll say they don’t do actual villains. Plus, lots of people have gone “true villain” on characters like Peridot when she first appeared, and now look at where she is! Anyway, Jasper’s story is honestly really gripping and also quite tragic. Sure, she works as a great antagonist against the Crystal Gems, but when we piece together where she came from we really get to see why she is the way she is, and she’s actually quite sympathetic. I mean, in her last appearance in Earthlings, I was on the verge of tears. She’s not just some thug, she has things she cares about and has experienced real hurt, and has become quite messed up as a result. Oh, and I can’t wait for her to come back. She’s gotta be back eventually.

3. CT-5555, aka “Fives” (Star Wars): I always enjoyed the clone troopers, but one of my favourites was always Fives. I was always invested in the Domino Squad storyline, and how they rose through the ranks and eventually became ARC Troopers. However, when things got really interesting for me was the Umbara story arc. Here, we not only saw Fives’ capabilities as a soldier, but with Pong Krell taking control of the 501st Legion he actually started to show more colours to his personality. In particular, we got to see that he cared more about what he thought was right than simply following orders without question. Unfortunately, even if that saved him and his fellow clones on Umbara, it would doom him when he learned about Order 66. Fives may have done the right thing, but when the entire Republic is against you for trying to reveal what they perceive as some conspiracy theory, you’re not going to go out well (especially if you have the Sith involved). I just really liked seeing a clone grow rebellious and then renegade but still cared about his duty because it’s either all loyalty or fuck the army, it was a nice balance. It was just committing the crime of asking questions that doomed him (and gosh his death is so sad). At least Rex seemed to listen to his warning though. :’)

4. Bradley Nicholson (Milo Murphy’s Law): IDK if I’ve talked about Bradley much, but he’s just such a blast to watch. Of course there’s the added bonus of Vincent Martella voicing a character radically different from Phineas, but even then he’s just really funny, the voice acting just enhances that. He’s also quite interesting, given that he’s jealous of Milo and the attention he gets, plus he seems kind of lonely. I really want to see him interact with Milo in the future and see whether he changes his opinion on him, or if he somehow grows even more envious while he grows on the others.

5. Makuta Teridax (Bionicle): Yeah, Teridax here is a pretty standard villain with standard villain traits. Selfish, arrogant, wants power, views his subordinates as nothing but tools, associated with darkness, etc. The reason he has left a mark on me is because he’s not only good at what he does, he’s epic at it. They could’ve just had him be some typical dark lord type, but he ended up developing into a character that is able to plan things out to a ridiculous extent. As a result, he would always find ways to be steps ahead of the heroes, and he would even go as far as letting himself be severely defeated and letting them win if it meant achieving his ultimate endgame. Everyone was being played like a puppet, he was powerful but his manipulation and planning is what made him so competent. Oh yeah, and he ended up winning. It literally took a moon to the head to finally take him down, but even then he had already unleashed so much terror on the world that was now his.

6. Keith (Voltron: Legendary Defender): I’m pretty new to VLD so I might not really be as in-depth here now, but Keith is definitely one of my favourite characters in the show. For starters, he’s just really badass. Seriously, he might be reckless at times, but at least he’s not to the point of being foolish, he’s really good at what he does. Also the whole storyline with him being Galra was really interesting, The Blade of Marmora is probably one of my favourite episodes of the show so far. I was already invested in his need for answers, but there he was willing to go to dangerous lengths to get what he wanted. At least the hell he went through was worth it.

7. Alister Azimuth (Ratchet and Clank): Most of the final bosses in Ratchet and Clank games are villains, but here it was literally the mentor character for Ratchet. Granted I’ve never been too savvy with video games, but this twist here when I first saw A Crack in Time blew me away. He’s one of the last of his entire species and has lost everyone who was ever close to him, but when he sees the chance to go back in time, he can’t help but take it. Problem is that he will rip apart time if he actually tries that. It’s actually really dramatic to fight him at the end because throughout the entire game Azimuth had been helping out Ratchet despite stuff from his past slipping into the open (oh yeah, he also feels personally responsible for unwitting helping the one to get rid of the Lombaxes), but when Ratchet and Clank tell him using The Great Clock to alter time would be dangerous, he decides to stop playing nice. He’s rough throughout the entire game, but now he’s not taking anything from anyone. He needed to go back and undo the mistakes of the past, but he had to end up fighting someone who is the son of his once best friend to do it. Granted he’s brought to his senses by the end, but he does end up dying to reverse the time travel process.

8. Connor Temple (Primeval): I don’t remember much of Primeval, but I always liked Connor. Sure, a lot of the time he was there to be goofy and provide comic relief, but he was also really intelligent and knew his stuff. It’s also cool seeing him grow more important with each series, even if in the end his technological skills almost fuck up the Earth since he was being played by the antagonists. Just a fun and cool character.

9. Max Jerry Horowitz (Mary and Max): Mary and Max isn’t a film for the faint of heart (...like me), but Max has always meant a lot to me. He was the first time I had ever seen an Autistic character that felt real, and not just some stereotype or gag. We get to know him and all of the stuff he’s been through, and you can’t help but feel for the guy. He also wasn’t afraid to be himself despite how much hell the world put him through, which is really great to see. Also yay for a character that actually supports neurodiversity in some shape or form!

10. Donna Noble (Doctor Who): Donna was the first companion I got to know on Doctor Who, and she’s still my favourite. I enjoyed seeing someone with a relationship with the Doctor that was platonic but still strong and obviously meant as much as any other kind of relationship, and she was a lot of fun. I understand some found her annoying at first, but if she didn’t start there she wouldn’t have had such great character growth, learning to grow more confident in herself and overcome her insecurities. She was really funny as well, not to mention unafraid to speak up about things. The way she left the show was absolutely heartbreaking though...

I’m not tagging anyone, but if you’re reading this an interested feel free to do this.

#ask #meme #long post #Phineas and Ferb #steven universe #star wars #milo murphy's law #bionicle #voltron: legendary defender #ratchet and clank #primeval #mary and max #doctor who

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