Allow Me To Cannibalize A Comment Into A Post. Because That's How I Roll.

[redbrunja]

There was a conversation (on a locked post, so) about fanfic authors having Felicity Smoak (of Arrow) be a fan of various Big Fandoms (Doctor Who, Game of Thrones, etc) and while I think it works better with Felicity* than a lot of other characters, I think it's a ballsier move than most fanficcers realize.

The thing is, name-dropping fandoms (especially a fandom that author loves or that is super-popular currently) is one of the easiest ways to throw a reader out of the story, because you have to deal with the reader's opinion about what that character would like** AND their feelings about the property in question.

I mean, when it works***, it really works, but I think that most writers don't realize what they're risking on what is often not a very important detail.

*I bet Felicity is watching Game of Thrones. But I also suspect she liked the books better.

**Sidebar, playing 'what other media would fictional character X love' is super-fun, imho.

***that time Tony Stark thought about his mother singing Simon & Garfunkle's "America" as a lullaby  and how he thought it was referencing Captain America ALL THE FEELINGS MY GOD.

[+] Finally, based on the conversation that inspired this post, now I’m imagining that Felicity is a total arthouse film and History Channel geek, instead of the more common sci-fi/fantasy nerd.

[+] There is a whole other post regarding writing canonically well-read characters like Rory Gilmore, Blair Waldorf, and Dan Humphrey.

Comments

[mollivanders.livejournal.com]

I don't really think that Felicity would watch a lot of tv shows. I feel like she would watch a couple of genre shows, but I see her more as a reader. She has all that downtime in the Lair, and when she gets home I think she'd just want to unwind from Heroics, so I just picture her curled up with a book and a cup of tea. She'd probably watch GoT but prefer the books (as you said) and probably post a lot on fan forums.

Did you ever read The Magicians? The author references a bunch of Known Literature in that book and it was almost jarring, because then the two worlds couldn't coexist in any practical sense.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I feel like she would watch a couple of genre shows, but I see her more as a reader. She has all that downtime in the Lair, and when she gets home I think she'd just want to unwind from Heroics, so I just picture her curled up with a book and a cup of tea.

I can see that. I feel like she wouldn't want a LOT of things, but she'd be very loyal about the few that she did watch. And actually, honestly, I see just about ALL her free time (and her sleep time) getting sucked up into helping Oliver. Unlike Diggle or Oliver, after a late-night heroing, SHE still has a 9 to 5 job to do.

Did you ever read The Magicians? The author references a bunch of Known Literature in that book and it was almost jarring, because then the two worlds couldn't coexist in any practical sense.

I have not. I heard some things that make me want to read it and some things that make me not.

[streussal.livejournal.com]

I have this pet peeve about really well read characters in fic always being like ~everyone knows Machiavelli's The Prince is a satire~, when no that is not a settled issue in academia okay.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

~everyone knows Machiavelli's The Prince is a satire~

Seriously? I feel like that is the very first time I've head that. Like, I know Machiavelli was certainly not walking the talk of that book, but I did not know that a large section of the populace thought it was straight-up satire.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

and a lot of it is because sometimes a character is a huge fan of a show that i personally don't like/find problematic/don't think they'd actually have the time to care about because they're too busy saving lives/fighting crime/etc, and it definitely throws me out of a story.

Exactly. And I don't think that writers realize a dicey move making those references can be and/or they don't look at what the character has been shown liking, and then extropolate from there. Like, just blindly throwing in the fandom that the WRITER loves can go really, really wrong.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

You mean the lip-curling expression of disgust that I just made when I read that sentence?

Not even fucking BRUCE WAYNE could handle BC's Sherlock Holmes, much less, Dick or Stephanie or... basically, everyone else in the family is too functional to like Sherlock, or would be two trigger by Sherlock's disregard for other's people's basic humanity.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

exactly. like. the idea of any of the Robins enjoying Sherlock is just, bwah? you mean the kids who literally go out of their way, who break their backs to save the lives of the downtrodden, the vulnerable, the ones who side with the victim in every situation, those Robins? you fucking kidding me here?

I never get tired of you spitting truth about the Robins. (I bet they'd like Elementary, though. Although none would like, seek it out. But if it was on, yeah, okay.)

SPEAKING OF, can I bitch about how fucking many Robin fanarts are just the dudes? Ugh, it drives me up the fucking wall.

and damian would just be annoyed with how stupid and incompetent sherlock is, anyhow. he'd probably curl his lip in disgust and just be like, "ugh, white people."

I feel that Damian spends SO MUCH of his time being like, 'ugh, white people.'

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Someone wrote once about Tim watching CSI or rather, having it on in the background when he's working bc it's so profoundly easy to figure out that it just sort of frees up his mind, which honestly, I could totally see.

Agreed!

But I'm still flying the flag for team "Robins watching Adventuretime."

Definitely, definitely.

DUDE FOR REAL. just because the new 52 said so doesn't mean we should follow that as a guideline, guys, because spoiler: the new 52 sucks. how about every time there's a ~Robinpile~ fic, Steph is always the one who gets the axe and I'm like mmmhmmm but how about leave out Damian and add Steph, please and thank you?

Now I want to count, and see if Steph or Damian had a longer run. I feel like the answer is Damian, but, like, by a hair.

I came across a couple of GORGEOUS fanarts where the artist was clearly tuning into this 'sons of Bruce Wayne' similarity, which, frankly, Steph doesn't fit for reasons that only tangentially have to do with her being blonde and female but I was SO BITTER about not getting to see Steph in that style. Like, how could you deprive me of the glory of Stephanie in this amazing anime style? And also, btw, she was a Robin.

Honestly, I think I would read a thousand fics about Tim and Damian being annoyed during Wayne Enterprises meetings with Damian being like "ugh, white people" the entire time.

I'd read that. Also, I really, really like point 3 on this post (http://dreamrabbit.tumblr.com/post/28362649031/are-stephanie-brown-and-cassandra-cain-really-toxic).

Also, other people share your opinion on Tim's characterization in the new 52 (http://jaybirdtodds.tumblr.com/post/54635597786/kai-chu-just-saying).

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

Oooh, are we sharing horror stories?

I once saw fanart where Katara genuinely wanted to go watch Twilight at the movies.

I don't think I need to tell you why that's horrifying.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

I feel this fanart says everything that needs to be said (http://redbrunja.deviantart.com/art/Can-we-Kill-it-Crossover-193615352).

[phemyscira.livejournal.com]

This reminds me of a fanart where Eva (from the movie Wall-E) points her ray gun in Bella's face. It goes without saying it was awesome.

[thatfangirl]

Yes! I get thrown out of Avengers stories where Tony is fannish. Sure, he (and Bruce) watched/read sci-fi as a kid, but Tony does not consider, e.g., Doctor Who, essential to Steve's twenty-first-century acculturation. Imo, by the time Tony hit puberty, he was too busy inventing/partying to be fannish the way we are fannish, y'know?

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Imo, by the time Tony hit puberty, he was too busy inventing/partying to be fannish the way we are fannish, y'know?

EXACTLY.