Talk:The Crown & The Flame, Book 1/@comment-34036909-20180818102847/@comment-3452092-20180818151013

I went through it somewhere and I've seen others go through it elsewhere, but the thing is, that are in universe real. There's only maybe three that can't be directly connected to the rest of the universe.

Let's start with The Crown & The Flame's connection to The Royal Romance. My guess is that in Cordonia it's not mentioned as a show, because unlike the rest of the world, they know it's not fiction, or at least part of it's not fiction. If nothing else, if they brought it up around Olivia, they would probably get some annoyed comments from her because it's not just the same last name. Olivia is Zenobia Nevrakis's descendant. This was stated straight out in an interview before the series even started. Also, in universe Olivia has referred to her Nevrakis ancestors on more than one occasion, describing the family quite well in personality, though never name, and even talking about the pit in the castle.

Yes, The Crown & The Flame is a TV show, but it's a TV show based in myth and legend. At it's core, there are "real" events that happened. I think it like legends about King Arthur or Robyn Hood. No one knows whether they are true or not. Most people believe they aren't, but they might be. (Side note: I have no idea if they are true or not, but I have seen compelling arguments that they might be.)

Next, I'll go with Bloodbound, because @Fearless Diva shared a video with me that connects it to the larger world. Unlike some of the more supernatural stories, it doesn't have a corresponding fiction. . . not yet anyway. Just wait. It probably will get one. So it connects back to Veil of Secrets. The MC, a reporter from NYC, is talking to Grant and he asks him/her about the most interesting person s/he's ever interviewed and the answer is Marlon Barrister who has, and I quote, "dedicated his life to this wild conspiracy theory. He's convinced New York is secretly ruled by a cabal of vampires." Sounds a lot like Bloodbound to me. And Veil of Secrets connects back to everything through the MC and Kate both attending Hartfeld.

And honestly a lot can be connected via Hartfeld, but seeing as that's kind of weak, fiction can totally take a "real" university and use it as a setting in a fictional story, I will only make that connection as a sidenote when connecting Endless Summer (which also doesn't have a fictional counterpart that I know of) back to the rest of the universe. Endless Summer has connections to way too many other events thanks to Grace's mom and Jake's sister. Grace is mentioned either by name or otherwise in at least two series. You actually see Blaire's side of the beginning of all that in Rules of Engagement. It is covered over multiple chapters in book 2 as Blaire tries and fails to contact her daughter and mentions the trip she is going on. Blaire also mentions her in #LoveHacks, Book 2 is I remember correctly. It's been a while, so I don't remember the context or if she uses her name or just refers to her daughter. On top of that, Rebecca McKenzie is Jake's sister and she's shown up in both Most Wanted and Red Carpet Diaries by name and her appearance has been used in both The Freshman (in an LA area, fitting with where she is from, so almost definitely her just as several other Most Wanted characters have shown up without their names being specified, because the people talking to didn't know them) and High School Story. And just in case connecting High School Story through this isn't strong enough, they meet characters from #LoveHacks and yes, reference The Royal Romance as "royal gossip" rather than fiction.

So that brings us to the hard one, Hero. The series that Hero connects to the most is Endless Summer which, other than a bit of time travel, takes place in present day. The main antagonists in both know each other. The MCs of both books appear to be from the same place, more or less. The big problems come in two form, because of course we've never heard anything about Northbridge, where James and Gabriella from The Freshman, et al live, being destroyed like it was in the end of Hero, Volume 1 anywhere outside of that book. Multiple characters claim to have had a crush on Minuet growing up, meaning at least five years or more prior to that claim in The Junior, Book 1. Not sure how you resolve the first problem unless it is limited to an area away from where James and Gabriella's apartment is and they just didn't talk about it or somehow it is erased from people's memories or else people are actually forbidden to talk about it and those two characters actually listen. There are ways around that, but it's tricky. The other is harder, because unless someone traveled back in time and wrote those comics (it was comics, right?) there is no way a comic that came out when Tyler, Zig, and Sebastian were kids could have told of events in Hero, more specifically of a character who didn't come into her name until present day. So while Hero does appear to be real, we have a continuity error that they would have to actively work at to fix and I don't see them doing that. They might. I hope they do. I just don't think they will.

Perfect Match is one of the few stories that can't (yet) be connected to the rest of the stories, so it either doesn't or they haven't found a place to fit in references, yet. It Lives In the Woods is another, so that is two supernatural series that don't. Neither of them has (as far as I know) been referenced in anyway by other series either as fact or fiction.

Oh, one final on the list of "fiction" that isn't fiction. . . Most Wanted, Book 2 was made into a video game. Yeah. The characters in Endless Summer get to know that story when we don't. Considering Jake's sister is in Most Wanted, Book 1 (and probably Book 2 when/if it ever comes out), it's real, but they also say that it's based off cult killings in LA, so I guess it's not fiction so much as made into a game.