"When the RP gets in the way of the F": Star Image and intertextuality in real person(a) fiction

Abstract

This article uses a case study from the hockey RPF community to explore textual processes in real person(a) fiction, and particularly the intertextual relationship between different facets of the star image and the RPF character. I argue that the crisis in legitimacy faced by the fandom revealed a dense of web of intertextuality between the celebrity's public and official private personas, the imagined real person behind them, and the RPF character, all involved in a side-by-side reading of the similarities and differences between the celebrity fan object and the fan work. I highlight the complex relationship between celebrity persona, RPF character, and other seemingly unrelated elements that may be drawn into an archive by RPF readers and writers and show the collectively created RPF character was overwhelmed by these other elements.