Whither the Squick

[yourlibrarian]

This is clearly the week to be discussing RP fic. Just as I was finishing the very enjoyable RPS AU Restraint by darkemeralds, a question was posted on writingthewall about RPF and original fiction, what distinguishes the two and "Should more RPF 'cross the line' and be turned into publishable original fiction?" And of course this was also the

Comments

[yourlibrarian]

Clearly, I don't know either :) I'm also one of those people who doesn't understand the term "guilty pleasure." Why should I feel guilty about something I enjoy? Granted, torturing kittens isn't one of those things, so perhaps there are pleasures people should feel guilty about, but the things the term usually applies to seem so ridiculously innocuous.

As I stated to wistie above, I think FM could have been a much better episode, especially since Ben Edlund is well capable of crafting good episodes.

I believe that I can add to your discussion by saying that fans have had more exposure to Kripke, Singer, Gamble, Manners and Edlund through conventions and interviews than they have any of the other people on the production staff you have mentioned.

I think you're absolutely right there, though it doesn't explain the families who have generally gone unseen, whose personalities must be a general mystery, and who are not even in the entertainment industry. I agree that, particularly if the family is depicted in a really unflattering way, it can be unpleasant to read. I've found in my reading that the depiction is generally neutral or favorable, but it's really been all over the map and, especially in an AU, there's no reason to give them their actual family names anyway. Some authors have indeed bypassed this option and made other celebrities their siblings, or just created original characters.

But I think the family use has become fanon in the same way that certain friends are considered "standard" in the supporting cast and their characterization tends to be exactly the same in fic after fic. I would thus venture that the reason certain SPN crew have been used so often when other figures haven't is for the same reason. People aren't basing their fics on the SPN environment at all, but merely on the fanon of other fics. I like how you use the term "fic friends", it kind of reminds me of Barbie and her friend accessories!