Timeline of RPF

Fandom:	RPF
Dates:	1960s - present
See also:	History of Slash Fandom
Click here for related articles on Fanlore.

A probably incomplete listing of RPF/RPS fandoms and events per decade. When sizes are given, they are approximations of the amount of fiction written about the pairings in question, not the even-harder-to-gauge total amount of fanac (fannish activity) in the fandoms.

NOTE: This desperately needs information about Sports and other non-media RPF fandoms.

Also see Timeline of RPF Meta.

1510s

• 1514: Erasmus writes Julius Excluded from Heaven, about the then recently deceased Pope Julius II trying, and failing, to enter heaven.

1960s

• 1968: Spockanalia, the first Star Trek zine, publishes Visit to a Weird Planet, a story that sends Kirk, Spock and Bones back to the set of the filming of Star Trek. The three characters meet, among others, Gene Roddenberry. This story was published while the show was still on the air.

1970s

• At this stage, there are no 'major' RPF/RPS fandoms - either public or private; however fans are writing RPF/RPS and quietly sharing small amounts of Star Trek and Starsky & Hutch, circulating it underground.
• A few RPF stories in Star Trek fandom were published. Tricorder Readings ran a contest for members to write a "meeting Leonard Nimoy" fantasy. The Archives' Log, a Star Trek clubzine published Dream House by Steve Lampen in August 1974. In the story, Shatner, Doohan and Kelley are involved in tense negotiations over whether to appear in the new Star Trek movie. They wake up on the Starship Enterprise in the year 2241. After encountering a Klingon battle cruiser, the terrified actors are more than willing to accept the roles.

Specific examples:

• Karen & Leonard: A Monochromatic Romance, 1975, Star Trek: TOS RPF
• The Purple Pages, 1975-sh-1982ish, Starsky & Hutch RPS
• "Do-WHAT??" by Jenny Elson, a 1979 Star Trek RPF story in STAG #34
• "The Sun Plays Tricks," 1977, Star Trek RPF in the zine Diplomacy

1980s

• Music: The Beatles, Moody Blues, Metallica, Led Zeppelin (Tris/Alex).
• File:smatterings of Star Trek, Pros, Blake's 7, Harrison Ford meets Han Solo, and Starsky & Hutch actor fic existed, but no one called themselves a fan of, say, Shatner/Nimoy. RPS was rare, and completely integrated into the connected FPF fandom.

Specific examples:

• Shadows in the Rain, a 1986, Star Trek: TOS RPS story
• Death on the 9:13 to Birkenhead, a 1985 Professionals RPS
• "The Fabric of Space," a 1985 RPF Star Trek story in Trek Encore
• Doppleganger by Sonni Cooper, 1981 Star Trek story in Infinite Diversity, and a standalone zine
• Sojourns, 1988, a Star Trek: TOS RPS zine
• Star Trek: 1982 by Ruth Ann Hepner dated November 1982 in Dr. McCoy's Medical Log 5 (RPF)

1990s

• Figure Skating RPF—around since at least the 90s, the 2010 winter Olympics led to an upsurge in interest in the fandom. Works focused on Johnny Weir, Evan Lysacek, Stéphane Lambiel, and Evgeni Plushenko began to appear in larger numbers. Small
• Duran Duran
• 1997: Hanson—The first fics appeared within three months of the band's major label debut, and it quickly became a very active fandom. The most active years were 1997-2001, with a second "golden era" around 2005; the band is still active today and so is the fandom. Medium
• 1999: Star Wars: The Phantom Menace creates an "all but RPS" fandom, as media (i.e., non-music fandoms) inch their way into full-bore RPS. There are a few Ewan/Liam stories, but there are many many thinly veiled AUs that now read more like RPS than like media AUs.
• 1999: Popslash—first truly major-sized RPF/S fandom; Six major characters, plus a host of side characters. The first fanfiction mailing lists were started in 1999; the fandom's most active years were 2000 - 2003.
• X-Files RPF

2000s

• 2001: LoTRiPS -- pairings between all of the prettiest actors in the LOTR movies. First true media source with a correlated but separate RPS fandom. Renowned for the percentage of tinhats in the fandom. Medium
• Eminem—pairing the rap artist with musicians like Britney Spears, NSYNC, Backstreet Boys, other rappers, LoTRiPS actors or fictional characters like Lex Luthor or Faith from Buffy. Small
• In 2002, Fanfiction.net the then-largest and most comprehensive fan fiction online archive which initially allowed various forms of RPF, removed all Real People Fiction. It had previously had prohibited actorfic but allowed other forms of RPF.
• Jossverse RPF—featuring actors drawn from series created/produced by Joss Whedon including Angel, Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Firefly; Small
• after 2004?: Stargate: Atlantis RPS—mostly Joe Flanigan/David Hewlett (RPS version of the major Stargate: Atlantis pairing); Small
• 2004-5: Following some discussion on its forums the Buffyverse crossover site Twisting the Hellmouth extends its ban on RPF to cover all wrestling fiction (categorised as "WWE"); more than 300 stories are deleted at short notice. Subsequent revisions in 2009 allowed limited RPF "if using that specific person is required to portray a scene realistically," with various guidelines on suitable and unsuitable portrayal. The effect is to ban RPF het and slash pairings but allow e.g. portrayal of a real TV presenter interviewing a fictional character.
• after 2005?: CWRPS/J2—Mostly Jensen Ackles/Jared Padalecki (RPS version of the major Supernatural pairing, and actors they've worked with, including the Smallville actors); Huge. The size of the RPS fandom is probably attributable to the fact that many fans had objections to writing slash about brothers (Supernatural - the fandom "where RPS is the moral high ground.") or wanted to write in a lighter tone than the canon of Supernatural provided. Many months there were more Jared/Jensen stories than Dean/Sam stories in the Supernatural Newsletter, but overall RPF makes up just over 20% of the fiction posted to the newsletter.
• John Barrowman/anyone—The openly gay star of Torchwood is paired with everyone, but mostly actors from his show, or from Doctor Who of which Torchwood is a spinoff. Small
• Between July and November 2004, political slash involving John Kerry and John Edwards began to circulate online. The first Pundit RPF community on LiveJournal also appears around this time.
• Bandom—members of a group of American bands that interacted together, especially My Chemical Romance, Fall Out Boy, Panic! at the Disco. See Timeline of Bandom. Medium
• 2006: Garrettverse, a very rare example of RPF involving actors from The Sentinel
• 2008: AI7—David Cook/David Archuleta; winner and runner-up for season 7 of American Idol, and other Idol contestants. Small
• Merlin RPS—99% Bradley/Colin (RPS version of the major Merlin pairing); Small
• 2009: Star Trek Reboot RPS -- Chris Pine/Zachary Quinto (aka "Pinto") (RPS version of one of the major reboot pairings) Medium, and in one year, is already far bigger than all Star Trek: TOS RPS combined.
• 2009: AI8 -- Adam Lambert/Kris Allen; runner-up and winner for season 8 of American Idol, and other Idol contestants. Built on fans who had started to think of AI as a possible fandom the season before, and then expanded quickly when Adam Lambert came out, and was shown to be close friends with his straight competitor. Medium
• Pundit RPS—Various pairings drawn from news parody shows, The Daily Show and The Colbert Report as well as more traditional news programs. Somewhat satirical or light comedy-romantic slash stories featuring news anchors Keith Olbermann and Anderson Cooper (among others) appeared as early as 2002; this is called pundit slash or pundit RPF. Small
• Top Gear, a popular BBC show about cars, is shown on BBC America. RPF between the hosts begins and continues into the 2010s.
• Football RPF gets bigger, particularly during the 2010 FIFA World Cup where the Spanish NT gets the most fannish attention. footballslash garners 3,000+ members and more than 14,000 entries.

2010s

• The winter Olympics in February 2010 brought an upsurge in Figure Skating RPF, which had been around since at least the 1990s, with many new fans drawn in by the popularity and notoriety of Johnny Weir.
• Late 2010-2011: A-Team movie RPF between Liam Neeson and Bradley Cooper develops a following.
• The Social Network and TSN Actor RPF center around the 2010 movie which is based on a 2009 book, which is based on the founders of Facebook. It tends to be a mix RPF about the real people, FPF about the characters, and RPF about the actors, including stories where the real people interact with the movie and/or actors.
• Bandom continues, with particular upsurges when key bands release a new album (e.g. My Chemical Romance and Panic! at the Disco in 2010/2011). Some fans include their girlfriends and wives in fanworks.
• In 2010 the boyband One Direction is formed on the reality TV show The X Factor and becomes massively popular very quickly. Lots of tinhats, lots of gifs, lots of fanfic. 1D fandom also encourages the development of smaller fandoms like Radio 1 RPF.
• YouTube RPF aka vlogger RPF takes off in the 2010s. According to AO3 statistics, Phan is the most popular pairing.
• 2012: Hockey RPF, particularly focused on the NHL, enjoys an increase in popularity.
• Late 2012: The YouTube company Rooster Teeth (creator of Red vs. Blue) gains a significant RPF fandom.
• 2013: My Chemical Romance breaks up.
• 2013: Kpop boyband BTS debuts. Huge
• 2017: Thirst Aid Kit, a podcast about pop culture and desire, debuts; each episode concludes with the "Fanfic Wars" segment - in which the two cohosts read their own reader-insert RPF drabbles.