From Denise Julia to members of BINI, these Filipino artists have read an AU or two!
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Fanfiction has long been a part of fandom. But there’s an unspoken rule that it’s taboo to let idols, celebrities, musicians, artists, or anybody who’s ever had a fanfic or an AU (alternate universe fanfiction) written about them actually see or engage with the work. Fanfiction and AUs allow fans not just to exercise their imagination, creativity, and writing skills, but also share expanded and transformed worlds (ones that they already love, or ones with the people they already have a connection to) with other fans, as well.
These days, when everything is on the Internet for the world to see, and everybody—even your idols—are on it anyway, there’s very little, if at all, chance a celebrity hasn’t encountered a fictional story based on them. Some of the most popular ones exist on X, where you can find an artist or two lurking here and there. On X, these fanfictions are social media AUs (stories told through a thread of screenshots of messages, texts, and social media posts, sometimes interspersed with prose narration).
In our case, our own local artists and musicians, especially those who are part of the generation that was pretty much raised on fanfics, are sometimes actively seeking out written work based on themselves. From Denise Julia to the members of BINI, here are a few Filipino artists that have made it known that yes, they read AUs, too.
DENISE JULIA
ayusin niyo mga au pls nagbabasa ko
— denise julia ♡ (@denisejvlia) February 5, 2024
R&B songstress Denise Julia has been open about her getting into reading AUs, even calling on people on X to write great ones because she’s reading them. She’s read a couple of AUs about P-pop girl group BINI, and even mentioned it on a vlog with BINI member Mikha!
BINI MIKHA
Sige ako na red flag sa mga au ok lang tanggap ko na👍🏻
— mikha (@bini_mikha) February 5, 2024
BINI’s Mikha Lim is often a star in BINI AUs, deemed fun to write because of her presence and personality. The characters based on her are often a “red flag,” exhibiting some not-so-healthy characteristics and dealing with issues in often frustrating fashion. As Mikha goes through some fans’ AUs (while Denise Julia teases her both for reading and for being a red flag), she jokingly accepted her fan-determined fate.
BINI JHOANNA
reading — au, p’wede kayong maging direktor blooms kaloka kayo HAHAHAHA
— Jhoanna Robles 🦋 (@bini_jhoanna) December 30, 2023
Do you think BINI members recommend AUs to each other? Do they talk about an AU of the week like a book club? Because it seems like plenty of them are interested in seeing how they’re being portrayed and written about by their very own fans. BINI’s leader and all-around multi-hyphenate Jhoanna Robles humorously praised BLOOMs for their creativity and storytelling skills, saying they could very well be true writers.
BINI MALOI
@bini_macolet where can u see an idol that reads out loud an au about them while their fans are watching 😭😭 btw, kudos to the author of that au kahit ang sakit nung nangyari sa kwento and mas dama pa kasi si maloi yung nagbabasa 😭💔 #bini #biniph #maloi #bini_maloi #ppop #au #biniau #alternateuniverse #pov ♬ original sound – bini_macolet
“Sige, pakita niyo! Gawa-gawa, pinopost niyo sa Twitter? Sabihin niyo, eto na, andito na ko, babasahin ko,” BINI member Maloi Ricalde challenged BLOOMs in a livestream, trying to find some AUs she could read aloud. Maloi then went on to read an angsty Maloi x Colet AU, reacting to the lines her own character “Monique” says. “Bakit ganito mga AU namin ni Colet, mga masasakit?” Truth be told, and I’m sure many will agree—it’s because angst is very fun to write and read, despite all the hurt.
MRLD
so pagbabasa nalang po ng au nagpapakilig sakin ngayon saya naman
— mrld (@thisismrld) January 26, 2022
Singer-songwriter mrld, real name Meriel de Jesus, is also another Gen Z musician that’s open about reading AUs, particularly of K-pop girl group TWICE. She’s dabbled in her fair share of angsty ones, even admitting that reading AUs get her inspired. In a post on X, mrld wrote, “never let me read an au again because i would directly write a song after reading.” Wait—but we’d love to hear a fanfic-inspired song!
VXON FRANZ
HAHAHAHA WHAT IN THE AU IS THIS? https://t.co/ts5gWrAMxY
— VXON franz (@frnzchuaa) April 3, 2023
Is anyone surprised? VXON‘s Franz Chua spends a lot of time online (he’s just like us!), and with his simple reference to AUs, we immediately clocked him as someone familiar with the practice. We are simply left to wonder what AUs he reads. Do you think he’s encountered a VXON AU or two?
KATHRYN BERNARDO
Though perhaps not an avid social media AU reader, Kathryn Bernardo has read the Pinoy KathNiel AU and socmed serye Along España by Gwy Saludes. Yes, the same Gwy Saludes that wrote Wattpad novel The Rain in España and the rest of the University Series, which has since been turned into published novels and adapted as a series streaming on Viva One. Along España was a viral hit, and Kathryn praised the young writer, saying “Naaliw ako!” She also added that she couldn’t wait to read what happened next.
Continue Reading: 5 Reasons Why Fanfiction Writers Should Be Given More Appreciation
