Why I'm Not Ashamed of Writing RPS

The whole cast is a gateway drug. It wasn't my fault.

First, lets's start with the terminology. RPF is real person fiction, and RPS is real person slash. Slash (for those who may not know) is fan fiction pairing two characters of the same gender. So RPS is fiction about two actual people of the same gender hooking up. 

Even in the fic community, RPF of any sort is often looked down on. We can all allow that there's a creepy factor. You're talking about actual people, not fake people! And, heck, some people take issue with shipping (liking two characters paired together romantically) in fic at all when it isn't cannon. Or with fan fiction as a whole. Or with the air with breathe. Ahem, I digress. The context here is to realize that a lot of people just aren't comfortable with the idea of RPF and RPS.

Epic fucking trolls, these boys.

So why am I not in the least bit ashamed of having written it? Shouldn't I be apologizing profusely via fan mail for the wrongs of the past? Um, no. First of all, fan fiction is written by fans generally to be read by other fans. It's not for the celebrities or show runners... and amusing as the gif sets of celebs being confronted with fic can be, I'm generally horrified when fans or interviewers spring that sort of thing on the celebrities in question. It's tacky and creepy. Hey, if they like trolling Tumblr on their own (hi, Mark Ruffalo!), then that's wonderful. But that's also their choice.

See? Terrible influences.

So it's okay because the people it's about don't see it? Well, yeah, partly, but there's also the fact that for me, I'm not really writing about a real person. I don't know the real person. I'm writing a fictionalized version of a person who I'm making up based on interviews or random perceptions or pictures. Despite it being called "real person slash," there's nothing real about it. There are definitely people for whom those lines are blurred, but I'm happy to say I'm not one of them. I have boundaries. I have common sense. I also have clear warnings and information attached to all of the fiction that I write so that those who don't want to read it can avoid it like the plague. 

For those of you who are also fic writers, have you ever dabbled in RPS or RPF? Do you cringe when you think about it? Do you still write it?