Pastiche

A Pop Culture Fic

Pop culture fiction is a genre where stories are deliberately crafted to weave in numerous references to other works and media. Rather than using pop culture nods sparingly, these stories are built around them, celebrating the broader tapestry of popular culture itself.

Key Characteristics

In pop culture fiction, references serve different purposes: some stories tap into nostalgia, evoking fond memories of beloved media, while others construct entire worlds and narratives centered around pop culture influences. These works don’t just spotlight a few familiar titles — they draw from a wide array of sources across various genres and mediums.

While many examples of postmodernism, homage, metafiction, satire, and parody fall under this umbrella, pop culture fiction often distinguishes itself by blending references with meaningful depth and emotional complexity. Far from being purely comedic, many of these stories explore serious themes and have earned critical acclaim. The genre frequently draws inspiration from video games, horror, and broader geek culture.

Spartan aka The Superhero

Spartan is a tribute to all superheroes — the Avengers, Batman, Spider-Man, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the X-Men, the Justice League, Superman, and more.

Love Fey aka The Magical Girl

Love Fey is a shoujo heroine in the tradition of magical girls like Sailor Moon, Cardcaptor Sakura, Puella Magi Madoka Magica, Pretty Cure, Magic Knight Rayearth, Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha, and Revolutionary Girl Utena.

Bee Girl aka The Cartoon

Bee Girl breathes the same sunshine as cartoon morning shows like Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, Dora the Explorer, Paw Patrol, SpongeBob SquarePants, Thomas & Friends, Sesame Street, and Bob the Builder.

Oppa Rockstar aka The K-pop Idol

Oppa Rockstar is a testament to the international phenomenon that is K-pop. Think boy bands like BTS, EXO, Seventeen, Astro, BAE173, and B.I.G. Then there’s also the girl group Blackpink.

Princess Ruana aka The Fairytale Princess

Princess Ruana is a love letter to Disney princesses such as Cinderella, Aurora from Sleeping Beauty, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Jasmine from Aladdin, Mulan, Tiana from The Princess and the Frog, and Rapunzel from Tangled.

Captain McKinley aka The Space Ranger

Robots, space, gadgets, time machines, parallel universes, aliens — science fiction — that’s Captain McKinley’s turf. Transformers, Star Trek, Jurassic Park, Halo, Avatar, Gundam, and more. Then there’s the subgenre of cyberpunk, like Terminator.

Ser Cerulean Arlentis aka The Paladin

Ser Cerulean Arlentis, a paladin, belongs to the class archetype found in role-playing games (RPGs). Paladins appear across various forms: massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs) like World of Warcraft (WoW), Star Wars: The Old Republic, and The Lord of the Rings Online; action RPGs such as Genshin Impact and The Elder Scrolls series; tabletop role-playing games (TTRPGs), most notably the all-time classic Dungeons & Dragons; and even in fantasy anthology media franchises like Final Fantasy.