everybodyliesmd: (Hands over eyes by XO_Charmar)
everybodyliesmd ([personal profile] everybodyliesmd) wrote2009-04-29 12:04 pm

I've got a question...

Does the word "couch" mean something different than "sofa" where you're from?

because I've read a ton of fanfic where the authors have placed a couch in House's office and/or conference room. Now for me, a couch is either a long piece of furniture meant to seat 2 or more people side by side, or a kind of extended chair psychiatrists use for their patients to lie down on. Your mileage may vary.

However, unless I'm far less observant than I give myself credit for, I've never seen a couch in either of those two rooms. (Wilson DOES have a couch in his office, but I'm talking about fic scenes that take place in House's office or conference room).

I know fanfic is fiction based on canon and may contain elements that are not canon (or can be completely AU, which I don't care for). But I've read some stories where the authors go out of their way to keep everyone in character and believable but toss in something like a couch and it just throws me. I like fanfic that sticks as closely to canon as possible, especially when it comes to character traits and personalities (I don't like a mushy, overly emotional House or a very Dark!Wilson). Sticking closely to canon makes it believable for me and I can really get lost in a story, but little details like sofas that never existed just spit me out of that pleasant little "zone" I'm in. (This goes for anything I read, not just fanfic; if I don't get completely involved and totally invested in the characters and the story, then I lose interest. To me, a story with good writing, characterizations, and plotlines grabs your attention and sweeps you into their world.)

Am I too picky? Do things like this bother you?

[identity profile] bonorattle.livejournal.com 2009-04-29 04:48 pm (UTC)(link)
Little details drive me nuts, too.

As for the relationship between "sofa" and "couch"? I've always considered the latter to be slang for the former.
ext_121720: (Default)

[identity profile] everybodyliesmd.livejournal.com 2009-04-29 04:57 pm (UTC)(link)
Oh, good. I'm not the only one that goes crazy when things don't line up!