people who are fine with rpf but not tinhatting are absurd to me. the idea that bending real people into fictional characters for storywriting is somehow intrinsically more okay than analyzing a real person's irl actions, feelings, and beliefs is dumb
but even beyond that like. all of this is gray area. what matters is How you do it not the acts themselves.
an rpf writer who tags the real people directly on social media or prints it out for them to autograph irl is doing way worse than a tinhatter who speculates on a private account or in a closed group chat.
similarly a tinhatter who pesters the real person with invasive questions or images is doing worse than the rpf writer who uses code words, abbreviations, or locked accounts to keep their fic secure
