Real Person Fiction

Real person fiction, also called real-person fanfiction, RPF, actorfic, or celebrity fanfiction, is fanfic that uses (usually) live, famous, real-world individuals as primary characters. As might be guessed, RPF's existence rests on questionable legal and ethical grounds; its use is often discouraged out of the well-reasoned fear of legal reprisals for libel, though some celebrities have actually encouraged RPF featuring themselves. Fanfiction.net banned RPF in 2002.

Janet Barch as Monica Lewinsky (ouch!) with presidential friend

Fewer legal and ethical issues are seen when the Real Person appearing in the fanfic is actually long departed. The Sidhe's long-running series, "The Other Side of Time," features a number of major American Civil War personages, primarily from the Confederate side.

For related information, see Legal issues with fanworks.

RPF in Daria Fanworks

RPF is rarely seen in Daria fanfic, except for the occasional use of characters based on real-life fanfic authors, artists, and fans, usually in comic dream world, reality crossover, or alternate-universe tales (e.g., "Fandemonium," TAG's "Aunt Kara," Dervish's "The TAGinator"). These characters almost always play secondary roles to actual Daria characters as they interact.

It is possible to consider real-person fiction as the exact opposite of a reality crossover. In the former, a real-life celebrity appears in a Dariaverse; in the latter, Daria or one of her cohorts appears in the real world. Telling the difference can be tough with some stories. As a rule of thumb, given a story that could be either a reality crossover or real-person fiction, the story is real-person fiction if Lawndale exists much as it appears in the Daria show.

"Camp Fear" Campers

The fifth-season episode "Camp Fear" featured two characters based directly on Daria fans: Michelle Klein-Hass and Erin Mills. Erin (a.k.a. Shallow15) won a trivia contest on MTV's Daria Website, and Michelle (a.k.a. MsGeek) operated Lawndale Commons and wrote magazine articles on Daria. Further details are available here. The Daria Character Database entry for "Mystery Character" possibly referred to Erin Mills.

Famous real-life personalities were referred to on a number of occasions in canon Daria material and its predecessor, Beavis and Butt-head, but never shown—with two important exceptions. These celebrities are also seen or referred to often enough in Daria and related fanfiction to warrant special mention.

Glenn Eichler

MTV Daria show staff, particularly co-creator Glenn Eichler, have been seen now and then in Daria fanfic (see Asha Williams's "Not So Parallel Universe," Ace Trax's "Misery Chick," and Rey Fox's "#10 Dream"). A background character based on Glenn Eichler in fact appeared in crowd scenes in the series itself as a sort of Mary Sue (see his character illustration at the Mary Sue link). Mr. Eichler's name has also appeared in numerous fanfics in Tuckerizations, such as "President Eichler" in Richard Lobinske's "Alien Home" and the Eichler-Lynn Parkway, a street in Lawndale, from "Darius," by TAG.

Bill and Friends of Bill

U.S. President William Jefferson Clinton

While he was still President of the United States (1993-2000), Bill Clinton had the distinction of appearing twice in Beavis and Butt-head productions (the episode "Citizen Butt-head" and the movie Beavis and Butt-head Do America), and once as part of a Daria alter ego picture featuring Janet Barch as Monica Lewinsky.

In "Citizen Butt-head," Clinton actually meets freshman Daria Morgendorffer, one of a group of Highland High honor students selected to ask questions of the president. Daria's question, which went unanswered because of an untimely interruption by Beavis and Butt-head, was: "Mister President, in your campaign you promised to help every young person get a college education. Did you mean that or were you just jerking us around?" Daria saves the misbehaving B&B from the Secret Service by telling everyone that they are "special," which leads Clinton to give the boys Student of the Year awards. Daria is ignored thereafter. In Beavis and Butt-head Do America, President Clinton makes the two wienerheads honorary members of the BATF for their "help" in saving the world. Butt-head is unable to locate Chelsea Clinton in the White House, however.

A Tuckerization relevant here is Clinton County, from TAG's "Invisible Planet," which was a play on Carter County from The Daria Diaries.

Bill Clinton has appeared in cameos on numerous other animated shows, such as The Simpsons, South Park, and Family Guy, and in political newspaper comics running the spectrum from "Doonesbury" to "Mallard Fillmore." It is left to others to explain his popularity in cartoon/comics media. He does seem to get around.

External Links

General Information

Real-Person Fiction at Wikipedia

MTV Crew (in reality)

MTV Crew (in fanfics)

"The Man Behind the Curtain," by Alpacca Jo
"Misery Chick," by Ace Trax
"Not So Parallel Universe," by Asha Williams
"On a High Note," by Galen Hardesty
"#10 Dream," by Rey Fox

President Clinton (in canon)

President Clinton (in fanfics)

"Aunt Kara" (the long version): A round robin featuring Kara Wild as the youngest Barksdale sister, and a suggestion that Daria's actual father is not Jake.
"Beavis and Butt-head Parodies Suck", by Deep Metal: A B&B crossover with Daria and Star Wars, featuring a familiar ex-president in the role of Han Solo.
"Coming of Age," Chapter 19: American Dillweed, by Deep Metal: Another B&B tale featuring an ex-president.
"Goodbye Diarrhea," by C.E. Forman: References Daria's meeting with the then-president.
"New Drum, Same Tune," by Roentgen: AU tale that references Daria's meeting with the then-president.
"Scenes That Should Not Be" (#9), which includes a hint that Quinn's father is not Jake.
"The Schoolbands," by Wouter Jaegers: Includes an amusing SSW bit with a movie crossover.
"Something to Shoot for," Part 2, by Dervish: Frequent referencing of Second Amendment legal issues related to the Clinton administration, no cameo appearance.
"There Beneath the Blue Suburban Skies", by TAG: An alternate-universe fic that references Daria's meeting with the then-president.
"Tiffany in Futureland", by TAG: Numerous political figures from 2000-2005 appear herein.

Other Examples of Daria RPF

"The Other Side of Time," by The Sidhe, at Outpost Daria
"Death Takes a Holliday," by TAG
"The Other," by TAG (incomplete)
"A Path of Roses and Thorns," by Brother Grimace (part 2 is here). The wedding features cameos with then-Vice President Dick Cheney, Michael Jordan (who meets Mack!), Samuel L. Jackson, Keanu Reeves, and a host of others, as well as crossover characters.