hiya ! I'm a bit new to tumblr and the whole concept of rpf really , and I had started reading a few fics here and there , and had seen zero cycle being mentioned quite a lot so that was on my to be read list . what exactly happened that ZC is now off the internet ? I saw you posting a lot about how people not knowing rpf boundaries are the reason this happened , so could you please explain whaat boundaries were broken by people for this to happen ? i wanna read rpf and defo dont wanna be an idiot in future who breaks these unwritten rules and causes so much distress .
Thanks in advance !!!
hii! I'll explain to the best of my ability- I'm a bit new to rpf myself (i don't write, i know, rare) but i think once you grasp the basics the rules are pretty simple <3
so the whole point of rpf is that it should stay in rpf spaces (ao3 and tumblr), because the whole idea is that it's for fun, but ultimately is about real people, so it's just a generally acknowledged piece of fandom etiquette that rpf shouldn't be discussed outside of rpf safe spaces .
what happened with ZC was somewhat of a fandom crossover, with rpf fans sharing it with MCSR fans on twitter, which took it out of a safe space and ultimately ended up with it being brought to the attention of real people mentioned in the fic (eg. Tubbo) , and people going so far as to mention it in Oscar's comments.
This (the possibility of the fic itself being shared with the drivers) then became so much of a weight on the author's conscience, along with the disgusting hate that she was recieving, ultimately ended with her deciding to remove the fic, and sadly herself, from the internet .
so yeah, keep rpf in rpf-safe-spaces and you should be fine <3
sorry for the rant, but hope it helped !!
(if anyone wants to add anything PLEASE DO, i probably left a few things out xx)
(this post by @falenalunare explains it perfectly)