I don't know why I didn't think to cover it in my list of Fanfiction terms (I'll update the list now), but there exists such a thing as real-person fiction, RPF for short. The name, however, is a bit deceptive. RPF doesn't depict real people, well, not exactly. RPF takes people who exist in the real world and makes them into fictional characters, adding personality traits, backstory, etc. that is not true (but isn't ridiculously far from the truth) to suit the author's needs and/or desires. "But that's not true!" you say. "RPF doesn't make characters up, they're just like the real people!" One, I never said RPF makes characters up, I said that RPF uses characters based on real people. Two, I provide here an example that disproves your theory: a fanfic in which Bradley James has magic.
Shipping in RPF is the same as it is in regular fanfics - well, almost. While regular fanfiction can change a character easily, RPF writers have to be careful about how they portray the people in their stories. You can't depict a person in a way that would make them uncomfortable (well, you can, but you shouldn't).
But there's also shipping between real people who aren't famous. Enter my personal experience. Jake, my close friend who I know from band (Horn is way better than saxaphone!), apparently is friendly enough with me (or I'm friendly enough with him? Idk) that people ship us. It's all David's fault - he started the rumors (yes, I'm naming names). The shippers are pretty insistent, despite the fact that I have a boyfriend (I love you, Alex!). At first I was really mad (like, I wanted to punch David in the face), but now I'm just sort of used to it. I still find it really annoying, though. A lot of times real-life shipping is not okay, namely when the people who are being shipped have specifically told the shippers to stop.
In fairness, though, I can't complain too much about it. After all, it may have something to do with how Alex became my boyfriend. Emily, a mutual friend of ours, kept shipping us, certain that we were in love (we were). Eventually, after over 2 years of being best friends, we confessed our love for each other (she was there when we said it! Remember how weird that was? I was so worried I would chicken out and not tell you, Alex. Lol). He moved away shortly afterwards, so it's a long-distance relationship. I ship us, he ships us, and I don't care about the idiots who ship me with Jake.
So, if you want to ship real people, here are a few things to keep in mind.
- If you're writing RPF, remember that you are writing about a fictional character based on a real person, and be sure to distinguish fiction from reality
- No tinhatting. Tinhatting is when you try to convince people that your ship is real, saying that the people are in a secret relationship or some equally ridiculous theory. Tinhatting is incredibly disrespectful.
- Don't spread hate about a person who's "breaking up" your ship. If person A is dating person B, but you think person A belongs with person C, don't spread hate about person B or hope that A and B break up/get divorced.
- Don't be obnoxious about your ship. Talk about it with the people who ship it too - don't just shove your opinions in other people's faces
- Don't present a real person as having a very different sexuality from what they identify as
- Be kind to those who ship real people, even if you don't agree
- If you're shipping people you personally know, make sure they are okay with this. Don't ship people who don't want to be shipped.
Good day and happy shipping to you all.
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