#anyone who says people that celebrate fictional characters’ birthdays is cringe can fuck off

[heartstopperthoughts]

Today is Nick Nelson’s 29th birthday!!!!! 🥳 🎉 🎂🎈

[spnfanficpond]

January 2020 Pond LiveChat Recap - Writing RPF

We had a great time chatting with Taylor,  @impalaimagining​! Thank you so much for joining us and sharing your thoughts and experience!

Our topic this month was Writing RPF, and we talked about the legal, moral, and emotional aspects of writing about real people.  A rundown of the chat, as well as general Pond news, is below the cut!

We started off the chat with the legal side of things, most of which was covered back when we talked about Monetizing Fan Works back in May. Here are the related links that were brought up:

Wikipedia: Legal issues with fan fiction (The section dealing with RPF is near the bottom under Right of Publicity.) Boiled down, RPF has to deal with a celebrity's Right of Publicity. Famous people have the right to control the commercial use of their name, image, and likeness, sometimes even their broader identity or persona. Most states’ laws on this only apply to uses for commercial gain. So, don't try to get paid directly for RPF, and you're safe.

From NPR: We Stan: Real Person Fan Fiction Comes To Life. This is a fascinating discussion about RPF, the legalities, and how it’s been changing in recent years. This argues that basically since “fiction” is right there in the name, RPF is inherently more legal than regular fan fiction based off of characters. No one is trying to say that the real people involved are actually doing these things, it’s just fiction.

Goodreads Genre: Fan Fiction - Real Person Fiction. When I was researching, this link came up, and I clicked it, not knowing what to expect. Finding that Fan fiction, much less RPF is on Goodreads was surprising to me. (I thought Goodreads was only about books that could be purchased and didn’t touch “unpublished” works, but I guess not?) What I found most interesting was exactly how many of the titles listed on that page are J2-related. There are more J2-related titles than all of the others COMBINED. As a fandom, we rock!

The discussion started with most folks saying they hadn’t considered the legalities of fan fiction, or RPF in particular, when they began writing. Their first concern was just getting the story out of their head and onto the paper. Also, since no one was getting paid for it and it’s so popular, no one questioned the legalities. Also, since it’s fiction, there’s no defamation of character.

@mrswhozeewhatsis​ (Michelle): Most people know that I generally don’t read RPF, unless it’s an AU. Way way way back, when I first started reading fan fiction, I used to read the occasional RPF. Honestly, before SPN, I never really liked an actor enough to want to know more about them. (I've been burned by some jerk actors in the past.) One of the first RPFs I ever read was from Jared's POV, and it contained a scene where he was on stage at a con, and detailed his thoughts. I forget what the inciting incident was, but suddenly he was thinking, "Great, now they're all thinking about how big my dick is," and it made him spiral. Something about that stuck with me, to the point that I cringe every time I see Jared on stage and anything remotely sexual comes up. That's pretty much what stopped me from reading RPF. I have no problem thinking about how big Sam's dick is, but I can't ponder too much about Jared's dick, or I can't look him in the eye when I see him at cons!!!

Taylor: I definitely think there is a very fine line to be walked when you write RPF, and I generally don't cross into the area of writing from an actor's POV.

Q: Is that how you keep it separate so you don’t stare into their faces at a con during a photo op and think about the smut you wrote about them?

Taylor: It can be hard to keep it separate sometimes but it's actually very easy in the moment of a split second photo op. They move so quickly, I don't genuinely think I have ever had the time to consider the things I've written about them while I was talking to and hugging them!

Q: Anyone else who doesn’t read/write RPF, do you think that the whole not being able to look them in the eye is an internal thing for anyone in your life, or just celebs? 

@manawhaat​ (Mana): For example, I have A. FUCKING. LOT. of sex dreams. With tons of people, celebs and people I know in my real life... and I don't want to say that it's jaded me as far as thinking sexual thoughts about people, but in a way it kind of has. I don't have that moral dilemma of not being able to look Jared in the eye after thinking about his dick.  Taylor: I completely agree. I think writing it has made me kind of impervious to it bleeding into my daily life. I see Jared and my heart goes ohmygodwelovehim first and in person, then later when he's not around is when the wowowowbutwhatabouthisdick comes in. Michelle: I don’t think I could write about anyone in a smutty way. Just characters.

Q: I wanted to talk about 'characterization' of rpf. Do other rpf writers out there think of the people as characters and treat them that way, or do you humanize them? Idk if that question makes sense but it's along the same lines of keeping them separate. 

@fogsrollingin​ (Alex): I cast them in other stories when it's rpf. I always write rpf AUs with only a couple exceptions. We know their onscreen mannerisms, so making them astronauts terraforming a new planet with evil aliens on it is like "oh easy". Taylor: Characterization is huge for me. If someone writes an actor outside of the way they portray themselves, it's impossible for me to read. While we don't know these people personally, we know how they act outwardly and in the public eye, and that's enough to get a good idea of the kind of person they would be.  Michelle: I have no trouble reading AUs, because it's just another character who happens to look like and have the name of one of my favorite actors. In AUs, they're characters. If they are actors on a show called Supernatural, then it's too humanizing for me. Taylor: See, Michelle, my mind can't separate it to that degree. If I'm reading about someone named Jared who looks like our Jared? It's Jared. AUs give me a lot of trouble, to be honest.  Both writing and reading. Alex: I feel like it's no different than if Jared did a scifi movie during his summer break from spn & it's so low budget they just kept his real name for his character name.

Q: Do you feel differently reading ship RPF than reader insert RPF?

Michelle: Most of the RPF stories I read are ships, but I do read some reader inserts, too. It’s not an intentional choice either way. Alex: I don't feel differently about it, rly. I know I prefer reading ships over reader insert but that's just my personal jam. Mana: I have a hard time reading ship rpf mainly because I like the versions of my ships that I've built in my head, so when someone deviates from that it is a little turn off for me. Like, your version of Cockles is not the same as my version, which is totally fine, you do you, but it isn't gonna tickle me the same way ya know. so when I get into like non-mainstream ships it's extra difficult to find writers who represent them in the 'right' ways. Taylor: I feel that way about pretty much everything I read, and I think that has a lot to do with the whole characterization piece of it. I know that my idea of and the way I portray Jared or Jensen is probably a million times different than the way other people, including my readers, think of them. I try really hard to make sure the way the actors come across is "right". Mana: I think the one big piece of characterization is kind of using the way they have presented themselves as a moral compass. Obviously they don't present their whole selves so there's always wiggle room and areas where you are free to project your ideas of them into the fic, but that's also the trickiest area and where so many people drop the ball.  Taylor: YES. So, so many people take that wiggle room and take it leaps and bounds beyond what is public (fandom) knowledge. 

Q: How do you feel about RPFs that support certain theories about the wives being beards and such?

Mana: I try to not write anything that would feel as if I'm slandering anyone, etc. I wouldn't want to write a Jensen x reader fic where Danneel cheats on him and that's how they get together. If I mention it at all I just say that they've peacefully and amicably parted ways. If I don't mention it then they simply don't exist in the timeline. But never anything negative about anyone, especially the wives.  @girl-with-a-fandom-fettish​ (Kaisha): I don't write smut (only read) so I have a very different interpretation on a lot of the things being discussed. I tend to stick with non-AU, sister/daughter!reader insert RPF fics because I don't feel creative enough branch out beyond that. I feel the same as Mana, and I actually won't read fics that are based on the premise that someone cheated for the storyline to work. Alex: I'm okay if ppl deviate far into fantasy realms tho. As long as it's not too support a real life conspiracy theory about the actors, if ppl wanna write it & others like it, all the more power to them. I mean as long as you're like "I killed the wives during the zombie apocalypse in my fic but I love them in real life please don't kill me" I'm like "cool". Taylor: I avoid bashing fics or beard fics. Admittedly I have one where Jensen and Danneel never got married, but they still had a daughter together and Danneel hid the kid from him until her 5th birthday. That doesn't feel like a bash/slander fic to me because I'm not painting anyone as a bad person - things just played out differently. 

Q: The person who suggested this topic mentioned “how to write your first RPF.” Any suggestions?

Michelle: Have Mana finish it for you! (The only one I’ve ever written, she had to finish for me!) Alex: My first rpf was a ballerina!Jared & yogi!Misha romcom. It was so goofy! Taylor: I don't know if I can even answer that question. It literally just poured out of me when I started. I took the tiny little idea I had in my head (my daydream, as it was previously and so aptly named), and put it into words and it ended up being a 10 part series. Mana: How to write your first rpf: READ RPF FROM A LOT OF DIFFERENT WRITERS. find what works for you and for the people you're writing about. do a couple of trial runs with shorter fics. you have room to play, but try not to stray too far from what they've presented themselves as in real life. Kaisha: For me, when I wrote my first RPF (which was also my first fic), I was in a mental place where I was watching a lot of con videos and reading a lot of sister/daughter fics. It was more "I need an outlet for how I am feeling right now and I don't have anyone to talk to"...so I talked to the image of the boys I had made in my head from what I saw of them online.

Q: Does character shipping affect the RPFs you read? Like, if your OTP is Destiel, do you mainly only read Cockles?

Kaisha: I will read almost anything that's related to one of the Js, either RPF or SPN. But I don't have strong ship feels one way or another that changes what I read/write for RPF. Taylor: I don't know if character ships have any kind of effect on RPF ships. Because there are a lot more people involved in cons than we see on the show, and cons are my primary source of RPF inspiration. Like, we see Henry, what, twice in the show? But Gil McKinney is a whole other story. He's all over the convention circuit (or at least he used to be) and also all over fandom twitter. It just feels easier for me to write RPF because I see these actors in my real life, interacting with other real people. I have interacted with them, which makes things feel a lot more real than writing about two hot fictional dudes from my TV screen. Alex: I'm definitely up for Sam/Dean as much as I'm up for J2. Oddly tho it's Mishalecki at real life con panels that's gotten me totally happy to write/read Mishalecki.

Q: (From Taylor) The piece of RPF I struggle with the most is bringing events from the actors' real lives into my stories. Writing about Jensen and the brewery, about their kids and stories they tell about them at cons, that's where my already grey area turns even more grey. 

Kaisha: I am right there with you Taylor! My fic started as mostly the reader and JJ interacting and then I remember the twins existed, too. And with my new fic I am trying to figure out if the San Jac and FBBC will work in or not. Mana: I'm interested in this, because I don't seem to have that issue or gray area. It just doesn't exist for me and I'd like to hear more about it from you guys. Taylor: It's so hard haha. I have something coming up that deals with Jared being arrested and of course I didn't post it before that whole event went down so now it looks like I'm taking that part of his life and twisting it for my personal fiction needs. Which feels kinda (adult word for "not good").  Kaisha: For me the gray area thing is because I want to write a believable story. A believable story has realistic details and if I am ignoring or overlooking things that my audience knows to be true, I feel it takes them out of the story. Mana: So it's a case of omit it entirely or commit to it entirely? I ask in regards to like FBBC and the kids. Do you feel differently about incorporating those aspects into your fics? would you be more comfortable writing about fbbc than you would the kids? Or does that gray area cover the same on both? Kaisha: The same thing goes for when I beta read something. A detail that I don't remember or agree with will take me out of the story and send me on a research rabbit trail to know if the author is correct with what they said. I want to stay in the story as much as possible and I want that for my readers too. That's probably a good way to differentiate it. If I state in the A/N that J1 only has 1 kid, then I don't have to consider what year the story is occurring in. But if I tell you it's non-AU, well then everything that is happening in our universe should be happening in my story (otherwise, it would be AU, even to the slightest degree). The kids vs. FBBC thing I think could be very personal on which someone feels more comfortable with. I say that because I know ABSOLUTLEY NOTHING about alcohol. Kids on the other hand I get. Taylor: For me it's the same. Just, actual concrete aspects of Jensen's life are harder for me to write about. Because then - again, just for me - that feels like writing from their point of view, which is something I try to avoid.

Q: Do any of you read/write RPF outside of SPN?

Taylor: SPN is my only fandom. Michelle: I tried to read fics from other fandoms, and just couldn’t get into it. I might be getting sucked into The Witcher fandom, though. Haven’t found any Geralt fics that really align with my image of him, though. Alex: There are CW network RPF AUs I read. Taylor: I feel like, as SPN fans, we have a wonderful privilege and incredible pool of writers to choose from when we want to read. I don't know, because like I said SPN is my only fandom, if any other fandom has this level of talent or dedication.

Q: Have you ever read an RPF fic that changed the way you viewed an actor? Or given you a sense of gained insight into their lives?

Michelle: That's actually why I don't read “canon-compliant” RPF, actually. Because then I might think that idea is real, and won't see that it's not, even when proven wrong. Like, maybe Jared actually loves it when we think about how big his dick is? But I can't stop thinking that it embarrasses him and makes him uncomfortable because I read it in that one fic. Kaisha: @crashdevlin​  has a Jensen x reader series that also heavily features Tom Hiddleston. My view of Tom has forever been changed because of her story!  Michelle: My brain is very malleable. Sometimes, I'm so open-minded, my brain falls right out. I have to be careful what I let influence me. Kaisha: It wasn't something that I intended to happen. Crash just wrote a very compelling character and I think my opinion would have been altered no matter who it was that she used as the face. Taylor: I've never read anything that has changed the way I view the actors. I've certainly read things that have given me new ideas about the things they enjoy (bitey and/or rough smut), but nothing that's changed the way they appear in my mind. I think the biggest part of all of this is just remembering that all of this is 100% FICTION and should never be taken as reality in any way, shape, or form.

To close out the chat, Mana requested fic recs! Here are the recs that were mentioned:

Michelle: If you're into serial killer AUs, There's a J2 AU in my AO3 bookmarks that's genius. Adoration. The other RPF bookmark I have is called Beholder. Jared runs an animal shelter, and Jensen is a homeless man with a TBI who gets dumped at the shelter one night.

Alex: My favorite rpf fic is Tails by keep_waking_up. Werefox!Jared & kitsune!Jensen law enforcement murder mystery AU.

Taylor: One of my favorites to read is by @thecleverdame​: Modern Technology. (Jared x reader) This is unfinished but it's quickly becoming one of my favorite Jensen-things I've ever written, AND IT'S AN AU!!! Rockabye. Also, there’s You Saved Me (Jared x Reader). And have a J2 x Reader for funsies! Something is Happening

Kaisha: This is my favorite RPF. Underneath verse (series) - J2 -  Jensen is the undercover FBI agent sent to take out Jared, the boss of Chicago. #Self-promo, but I am pretty proud of this one, too: Nanny, Sister, Daughter...Family (Jenneel with sorta daughter!reader)

Mana: Here’s the Cockles x Reader fic that Michelle and I wrote: Rumor Has It And, of course, (Jenneel x Reader) Fools In Love.

Feel free to reblog with your favorite RPF fics!!

Also, the February LiveChat info is still TBD. Feel free to send in your topic ideas and suggest guest speakers!!

General Pond Updates and Reminders

What we’ve got cooking up next: Not much, at the moment, since everyone is busy, so we’re just trying to keep up with the day-to-day at the moment! Our to do list is still long, though, and will not be neglected forever! Next up is organizing the tagging system on the blog to make it easier for readers to find the stories they’re interesting in and for writers to find the help they’re looking for!

Reminders:

Angel Fish Award nominations are accepted all month long! No need to wait to tell us how much you liked a fellow Fish’s work!  IF YOU HAVE SENT IN A NOMINATION, BUT HAVE NOT RECEIVED A PRIVATE MESSAGE CONFIRMING WE RECEIVED IT, WE DIDN’T GET IT. Be sure to use Submit instead of Ask!

Don’t forget to submit your stories to be posted to the blog! When your stories are on the blog, then they are easier to nominate for Angel Fish Awards!

Say hi to December’s New Members and January’s New Members! (If we missed someone, let us know!)

Check the Pond CALENDAR to see when Big Fish will be in the Skype chat room/discord general channel and other Pond and SPN events are happening! Know of something that’s not on the calendar, send us an ask or submission with the deets info details!  The calendar offers a lot of features, such as showing you when things are in your own timezone! Since we’re an international group, that’s a definite plus!!

We’re getting lots of requests for more Big Fish, lately, but so far, only one applicant! If you know someone you think would be a good Big Fish, tell them to apply!!

[carryonmyswansong]

A Birthday Celebration, Chapter 2: A Familiar Back Alley

This work of fiction contains adult themes and subject matter. Please do not read, reply, or reblog, if you are under the age of 18.

Series Summary: Today is your birthday. Waking from your slumber, you realize that today is not going to be as ordinary as you originally thought it was going to be. Chapter Summary: You follow the clues to a familiar back alley. You are also greeted with a familiar face. He guides you further into your adventure. Word Count: 1335 Characters: Reader, Benny Lafitte (Supernatural) Pairings: Reader & Benny Warnings: language, (Supernatural) mention of show canon violence - brief mention of Benny’s second death, brief blood mention (palm cutting for a spell), allusion to sex related stuff A/N: I hope you like the easter eggs!

Chapter beta’d by @arrow-guy and @thorne93

Link on AO3 Series Masterlist

All page dividers were created by me. Please do not save and use. I make page dividers and will make a set for you, for $3. Please message me if interested.

As you neared your next destination, you notice that the houses are beginning to change shape. Where you know houses have always been, they are turning into brick buildings that resemble old store fronts. Their windows dark, as if waiting for their owners to come and open up for the day.

You want to stop and look in each one, curious as to how they got here. You know they showed up just today, because they were not here when you drove through the night before. It is as if the neighborhood has transformed into part of some back secluded part of any generic city.

The part of you familiar with TV shows and movies that start out this way wants to run back home and hide in your bed. This is how people die in the first five minutes of every show… by ignoring their gut and pushing forward with whatever weird scenario has sprung up. But the part of you that is curious and ready for adventure shoves those feelings aside. You have a feeling that if these letters were meant to cause you harm, you wouldn’t feel as if reading them feels familiar somehow… like you can almost hear the voice of the person who wrote each one. They almost vibrate with the energy of their authors.

Rounding one last corner, you come face to face with a familiar alleyway. The graffiti on the walls feels out of place. This is the place where your heart broke over the loss of a favorite minor character. Sniffling, you swallow the lump forming in your throat at the memory.

“This is almost cruel,” you say to yourself, while looking around for your next note or envelope. You don’t have any more to open and your map has left you with no more clues.

“How you think I feel, darlin’?” a familiar, rumbling voice asks from a darkened corner. The sun doesn’t quite reach this part of the street you are on, and the farthest corners are even more shaded than the rest. You gasp, startled from your thoughts.

You stand still as a very familiar shape starts to move out of the shadows. “When I was asked to do this part of the journey, I almost backed out. I really wasn’t too keen on revisitin’ the place where my best frien’ chopped my head off.”

You cringe at his words and walk up to him and bring your hand up to his cheek. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that, Benny. I cried when I watched it. You both deserved a better parting of ways.”

He nuzzles your hand and makes a sound like a rumbling growl. “Thanks, darlin’. It always amazes me when humans mourn us monsters.”

You want to say something. Want to protest that he isn’t a monster. But he is a vampire and you decide that though he meant it in a self depreciating way, you don’t think “monster” is necessarily a bad thing, in his case. You just smile at him, hoping your expression will convey what you feel in your heart, towards the man. You want to stay like this, standing close to the very large wall of Cajun man, enjoying the feeling of his hand over yours, cupping his face. But before your heart beat a full cycle, he lets your hand go and steps back, breaking the magic of the moment. He smiles, warmly at you. You see, what you think is, a twinkle in his eye. Something like a spark of joy.

“Alright... You came for an adventure, and I’m gone guide you from here. Come on, sugar, we burnin’ daylight.” He smirks at you, with a crooked smile.

Walking up to one of the walls, he cuts his palm. Counting three bricks up, and two across, from a painting of a small trash can, Benny places his bloody palm on the correct brick and utters the words intra me. With a flash of light, the bricks begin to shift and move, until there is a doorway.

“This is some Harry Potter shit,” you say in awe.

“Darlin’, you have no idea,” Benny laughs while licking his palm and letting the wound heal.

He holds out his hand and you take it, stepping over the threshold. As soon as you are on the other side of the wall, it's as if reality itself has warped. The bricks move back into place and time seems to be moving at a whole new way.

Currently, you are walking through what appears to be any ole alley way in Generic Big City, USA, but the further you walk, the more you realize just how true your Harry Potter comment is.

You pass by familiar shops, all related to the Harry Potter universe. All in the order they are suppose to be, all selling what they are meant to be selling. People in all manner of dress are walking around, carrying on as if it was any other day. Dotted in between and behind these shops are buildings you don’t recognize as first. But upon further inspection, you realize they are places from other stories. This isn’t just Diagon Alley. This is also a place for every store, shop, bar, and restaurant in every story you could ever think of.

You want to stop in every building and look around. You want to open every book. You want to talk to every person. But Benny doesn’t let go of your hand, and he doesn’t stop walking.

He looks over his shoulder the third time he has to tug on your arm, and smiles. “Sugar, you can look around later. We don’t have time to stop. Otherwise we will be late for a very important date.” He chuckles to himself, as if he’s made a joke. You are too distracted to fully register what he was saying and you let him lead you further away from the crowded alley.

Eventually, the cobblestone you are walking on start to give way to something less solid and the walls of the buildings are slowly growing closer together. The grass then slowly gives away to carpet, and the rooftops touch, forming a ceiling. With the sun disappearing behind walls, and the temperature changing, you finally notice that the things around you are quite different than they once were.

You shiver as your nerves falter and you almost lose your footing. Benny, sensing your anxiety, walks closer to you, wrapping an arm around your waist. “Don’t worry, darlin’, I got you,” he reassures you. His breath fans across your face, making you shiver for an entirely different reason. You blush when he sniffs the air and looks down at you with a knowing smirk. His grip around you tightens, as he continues walking you to your destination.

After what seems like hours, you come to the end of the hallway. In front of you is a door. Benny lets go of you and pulls a fancy key out of his pocket and unlocks the door. The two of you walk through and you are greeted by several more doors, lined up forming a very large circle. The door you just walked through has vanished.

On each door is a gold plate with an engraving. You walk close to one and it reads “Left for The Jolly Roger. Right for The Black Pearl.” Another reads “The Emerald City”. You keep going around the room. The more you read, the more the doors seem to keep appearing. Some of the doors seem to lead to two different places, much like the two ships.

Benny, looking down at his watch, grabs your hand, and leads you to the one that simply reads “Tea Party”. A grin slowly bubbles up from your toes and blossoms on your face.

“No fucking way!” you exclaim.

“Yes, love, now come on. Don’t wanna be late.” as he tugs you through the door, after unlocking it with the fancy key.

Chapter 3: Welcome to the Tea Party

Tags:

I will not be tagging anyone from my character or universe tag lists. However, the tag list for this series is open, and will remain open until CHAPTER 7 is posted!

If you want to be added to the tag list for this series, you MUST be age 18 or older (no exceptions), have your age listed on your profile, and follow @carryonmyswansong​​. If you qualify, please message me or send an ask off of Anon. Please keep in mind that writing, posting, tagging and maintaining lists takes time and effort so please consider leaving feedback when you read something you’ve been tagged in.