Quick Poll

[piecesofalice]

Flisty, can I bend your ear for a second?

When writing fic featuring partners of the policing variety, aside from dialogue, do you feel is it best to call them by their last names (as per canon) through the prose, or by first name?

EXAMPLE!

Charlie was eating a banana. Dani turned to him and groaned, "Crews, can you not?"

OR!

Crews was eating

Comments

[anr]

I go with half-half. If I'm writing from Charlie's point of view, then I would refer to him in text as Charlie (because I don't see him thinking of himself as "Crews") but he would think of Dani as "Reese" because that's how he sees her. (And, naturally, vice versa if the fic is from Dani's pov.)

Charlie's pov:
Charlie was eating a banana. Reese turned to him and groaned, "Crews, can you not?"

Dani's pov:
Crews was eating a banana. Dani turned to him and groaned, "Crews, can you not?"

[piecesofalice]

Ah, yes, I get you. Good point, actually.

How about third person, or an all-seeing God-type narration? That's what's really stumping me - I feel like it's lazy characterisation to have them simply being "Crews" and "Reese", unless it's deliberately detached, if that makes sense.

[plumtastic]

Personally, I think it'd work just fine for the third person POV as well.

[piecesofalice]

Yeah, I think so too. I'm probably over-thinking it, but I have noticed it a lot in any fic I read recently.

I had the same problem with writing IRIS, too - do I use the Korean terms (oppa, hyungnim, sunbae etc) or just write it as though it was being written for an audience that hasn't any exposure to the language and the hierarchy?

OVERTHINKING

[izhilzha]

Depends entirely on the fandom. For instance, I would expect it in an X-Files story, or Law & Order, even The Mentalist. But not in White Collar, not in Numb3rs (except sometimes in dialogue), not in The Sentinel...

Basically, I go by how the characters refer to each other in the show.

[piecesofalice]

Even in prose? The reason I was prompted to ask is I'm finding I'm reading a lot of fic where the characters are being referred to by their first names in prose but last when in dialogue - there's a lack of POV, too, and it's throwing me out of the story because it's unnecessarily familiar.

I tend to think like you do, to be honest!

[izhilzha]

Yes, even in prose. I mean, depends on my POV character--if I'm writing from the POV of the parent of one of the characters, for instance, the text might refer to Scully as Dana, and Mulder as... whatever seems likely. Alan Eppes on N3, in my head/fics, calls everyone by their first names. But a superior, like Skinner, would think of Mulder and Scully, as they do.

Didn't vote in the poll, but...

[silentg_canada]

I only write in the CI fandom, and what I do is, I go with whatever is common in Canon for dialogue and narrative, unless doing something different helps with the development of the story. For instance, if I'm writing about Goren and Eames during a time of conflict (like the Purgatory era), I might refer to BG as 'Goren' in both dialogue and exposition to demonstrate their distance. Conversely (since Goren almost always refers to Eames by her last name) I might switch to Alex in exposition to help demonstrate if Goren is feeling closer to her than usual, even if it's not evident in their interactions.

Re: Didn't vote in the poll, but...

[piecesofalice]

Totally get what you're saying. I think Goren and Eames are a perfect example, as he always calls her by her last name, which is related to his personality and social awkwardness, like you said. It's not as cut and dry.

Thanks for your input! :)

[suspiriorum]

I suppose it really depends. What level of intimacy is going on here? If they become closer than partners/work related, then using first names makes sense. You just stick with what works and is IC for them.

This reminds me of the IB fandom and how the Basterds and all military personnel were, by a good part of the fandom, not referred to by their first names, even in intimate fic situations.

Idk, I hated it. It's not Zoller/Shosanna, dammit! Fredrick! It's Fredrick! Unless their portmanteau name is Zoshsanna. Because that's pretty sexy, ngl.

Dieter/Bridget sounds so much nicer than Hellstrom/Bridget. I noticed she got called von Hammersmark a lot, too.

/weird tangent

[piecesofalice]

I think Sho and Fred are different to the Basterds, though - I'd be reluctant to refer to them as anything but their last names because of the situation, whereas Sho and Fred met as people (to an extent), not colleagues. If that makes sense.

IB fandom is one of the ones that does that - gets overly familiar, and it throws me out.

[suspiriorum]

It does. I notice that some folk will refer to Fredrick as Zoller to undermine/dehumanize him in some way. Or so it feels that way to me, if that makes any sense.

IB fandom does a lot that's dumb and should be nuked from orbit.

Also

ILU.

[piecesofalice]

In summary,

YOU SUCK IB FANDOM

ilu <3