Little black dresses of fandoms
I've been thinking about little black dresses of fandom while I sort out what I'm writing next. Partly I've been thinking not just about who are the LBDs but what makes them LBDs. To me, it seems to come down to two things:
1) They could turn up anywhere (and/or people come to them).
2) You can easily imagine them running into/talking to almost anyone.
Classic Examples:
Alex Krycek from the X-Files: the original little black dress, so far as I know, named as such in one of Te's challenges back when. (Lord, back when!) Goes anywhere, turns up acquiring and/or shooting anything, and will lie to anyone. (What? I never specified honest....)
ETA: Thanks, everyone! You're right, I forgot the second LBD -- Methos.
Joe Dawson of Highlander: follows Duncan MacLeod, so might end up anywhere; everyone seems to wander into his bar; and that man is a people person. He'll talk to just about anyone.
Oz from Buffy: Went traveling to control his lycanthropy, just seems to fit into odd places and stories, and okay, talk is occasionally an overstatement, but hey, he communicates nonetheless.
Other LBDs who come to mind:
ETA: Yup. Thanks,
rike_tikki_tavi &
kickair8p . You're both right: Capt. Jack Harkness was always supposed to be on this list. The new, instant classic LBD. Any time, any plane(t), any place, flrting with everyone.
Blair Sandburg (Sentinel): will happily discuss anything with anyone.
Hugh FitzCairn of Highlander: 800 years old, give or take, so he could show up almost anywhere; chased women (and was chased out by husbands) everywhere; and would happily talk to anyone, preferably female.
Cameron Mitchell (SG-1): ridiculously friendly. Right up until he isn't.
The witchblade (Witchblade): The thing is in art and legend across several continents and a few millennia; enough said.
Fox Mulder (X-File): Ordinarily, an FBI agent should reasonably be expected to stick to the US but he's turned up at both poles....
Henry Deacon (Eureka): He could be called in as a consultant anywhere? And he really does seem the type to chat with anyone.
Dream (Sandman): Oh, come on, he *has* shown up everywhere.
Death (Gaiman's, or Pratchett's): Ditto.
Pete (Warehouse 13): Those artifacts get retrieved from everyewhere, and Pete strikes me as the kind of person who'll talk to a fire hydrant or street sign if sufficiently bored.
Looking at this, I think that it's two major archetypes: the mischief-makers and tricksters who can show up anywhere (Neal Caffrey on White Collar, the entire Leverage team) and the people person, the guys and gals who'll wander in talking to someone you already know or show up because they heard about a killer bar/cafe/band while talking over coffee/at the bus stop/in the bookstore (Sam Axe on Burn Notice, Nanny Ogg or Captain Carrot in Discworld). And I suspect every fandom has at least one, to provide the energy that keeps the stories pouring out.
So who's on your LBD list? Dresses up, dresses down, goes with everything, gets worn written anywhere?
1) They could turn up anywhere (and/or people come to them).
2) You can easily imagine them running into/talking to almost anyone.
Classic Examples:
Alex Krycek from the X-Files: the original little black dress, so far as I know, named as such in one of Te's challenges back when. (Lord, back when!) Goes anywhere, turns up acquiring and/or shooting anything, and will lie to anyone. (What? I never specified honest....)
ETA: Thanks, everyone! You're right, I forgot the second LBD -- Methos.
Joe Dawson of Highlander: follows Duncan MacLeod, so might end up anywhere; everyone seems to wander into his bar; and that man is a people person. He'll talk to just about anyone.
Oz from Buffy: Went traveling to control his lycanthropy, just seems to fit into odd places and stories, and okay, talk is occasionally an overstatement, but hey, he communicates nonetheless.
Other LBDs who come to mind:
ETA: Yup. Thanks,
rike_tikki_tavi &
kickair8p . You're both right: Capt. Jack Harkness was always supposed to be on this list. The new, instant classic LBD. Any time, any plane(t), any place, flrting with everyone.
Blair Sandburg (Sentinel): will happily discuss anything with anyone.
Hugh FitzCairn of Highlander: 800 years old, give or take, so he could show up almost anywhere; chased women (and was chased out by husbands) everywhere; and would happily talk to anyone, preferably female.
Cameron Mitchell (SG-1): ridiculously friendly. Right up until he isn't.
The witchblade (Witchblade): The thing is in art and legend across several continents and a few millennia; enough said.
Fox Mulder (X-File): Ordinarily, an FBI agent should reasonably be expected to stick to the US but he's turned up at both poles....
Henry Deacon (Eureka): He could be called in as a consultant anywhere? And he really does seem the type to chat with anyone.
Dream (Sandman): Oh, come on, he *has* shown up everywhere.
Death (Gaiman's, or Pratchett's): Ditto.
Pete (Warehouse 13): Those artifacts get retrieved from everyewhere, and Pete strikes me as the kind of person who'll talk to a fire hydrant or street sign if sufficiently bored.
Looking at this, I think that it's two major archetypes: the mischief-makers and tricksters who can show up anywhere (Neal Caffrey on White Collar, the entire Leverage team) and the people person, the guys and gals who'll wander in talking to someone you already know or show up because they heard about a killer bar/cafe/band while talking over coffee/at the bus stop/in the bookstore (Sam Axe on Burn Notice, Nanny Ogg or Captain Carrot in Discworld). And I suspect every fandom has at least one, to provide the energy that keeps the stories pouring out.
So who's on your LBD list? Dresses up, dresses down, goes with everything, gets worn written anywhere?