Water's October, Right?: House Fanfiction Discussion

I am so unreasonably picky when it comes to reading Housefic. I can't read something with bad grammar (although a couple typos don't bother me) or anything OOC. But beyond that, I have bizarre tastes and will not read: First person House pieces: I don't even know why, but there's no way I can picture the story happening as told by House. I just can't imagine his voice as the internal monologue. I know this one is totally unreasonable, because there are enough talented writers around that someone could pull this off (and probably already has). Other time/situation AUs: supernatural AUs, change one thing AUs, crossovers, are all fine as long as the characters are mostly themselves, some of them are doctors at PPTH, and they're not in high school. Historical AUs and 'what if they were cowboys instead of doctors' fics just aren't my thing. Anything with a premise that is beyond belief: this includes most torture fic and most crack!fic. It seems unfair of me to discriminate against these, when I'll read stories with supernatural elements, but what can I say? I'm unreasonable. I do love dark!fic, though, but it has to be believably dark. And crack!fic that is a parody of fandom is fine with me. Exceptions to the unbelievability rule are made for Porn, but it must be HOT :wink: I respect the people who write the torture fic - no offense to them, of course! - it's just not for me. Which leads me to... Hurt/comfort that goes over the top: House has a bad leg day? No problem. House has complications from the vicodin? No problem. Wilson's got a cold? No problem. House is blind, deaf, mentally compromised, in renal failure and Wilson has to have a large nurse (with a heart of Gold!) help him hold House down while he cares for him despite House's wishes to die? Problem. Beyond the fact that this scenario drifts into the realm of implausibility, it also essentially takes House completely out of the story - the character doesn't get to say anything or make any decisions. And it's just not fun for me to read. All real person fic

First person House pieces: I don't even know why, but there's no way I can picture the story happening as told by House. I just can't imagine his voice as the internal monologue. I know this one is totally unreasonable, because there are enough talented writers around that someone could pull this off (and probably already has). Oh, me too. I've managed to read one first person Housefic and it was actually Cuddy's POV. Slip an "I" in there and I backbutton like nobody's business. Which is weird, because I like first person fic in other fandoms, like X-Files. :roll: Oddly enough, I love that there's so much second person POV fic in the House fandom. Usually it doesn't work, but there's plenty of great stuff here for some reason.

I kind of like watching authors take old or new premises/techniques and run off in an unexpected direction. Like Green Eggs and Ham, sometimes you just gotta try it...* * bad grammar excepted! Unfortunately there is the risk of finding a lot of duds, but there are also some gems out there where you least expect it. And as many people have pointed out, an engaging and/or beautifully written story can make you keep reading even when you thought you wouldn't be able to bear it. (Some torture fics -- and fluffy fics -- come to mind here). Maybe the exception proves the rule. (Whatever that means.) I'm happy to wave goodbye to plausibility in the name of well-written take-a-leap-of-faith fun, as well -- but then, I've also just fallen under Doctor Who's spell. And on a bad day, sometimes you need a crack!fic.

Sheep, I agree with someone a few pages back--was it Blackmare?--who said that by putting fanfic out for the public to read, a lot of the control over the story is lost. Readers start getting ideas, and thinking--it's positively primeval! Personally, I prefer specificity in our discussions, because then we all have a common reference. We can agree or disagree on particular stories, rather than going on about generalities that may or may not exist. However: the story, not the author! The writing, not the person. If a certain story illustrates my point, I will mention it. I have had the luck to be exposed to a lot of real life nastyness ... So the scenario I wrote - to me - isn't all that out there. // Come on House/Foreman people - tell me why you think it is plausible why they could actually shag. Okay, I'll take you on--sure there's a whole hell of a lot of nastiness in the world. That doesn't surprise me, and I've read stories where I believe the scenario and am horrified, shocked, and saddened (even if it's about fictional people--that's what good writing does). And I'm not necessarily talking about fanfic here, but all writing. "Survivor Type" by Stephen King is the only story that has had such a huge effect on me that I'm still horrified whenever I think of it. Obviously, however, where a person's writing convinces some people, it doesn't work for others. Personal taste, no question. Look at me, writing House and Foreman shagging: do I expect everyone to believe that? Not hardly! But I took the time to make it believable to me--I worked hard to craft that, just as you no doubt did with The Contract. We've each met our own standards of believability, and go us! Whether it'll work for the readers, though...dang, man, only time and feedback will tell.

Minor modly interruption here - for folks who aren't aware of this thread here forumer.com/viewtopic.php?t=230>Desert Island Fics might make finding some of the gems a little easier.

... was it Blackmare?--who said that by putting fanfic out for the public to read, a lot of the control over the story is lost. It sounds like something I might have said, but nope, it wasn't me! It's true though that you can't control what people make of what you've written. Once it's out there, it's out there and anyone can imagine anything about it, which is pretty much why fanfic exists in the first place. The creators of a TV program cannot stop the viewers from making stuff up. Nor should they want to, IMO. That level of engagement with the material and characters has got to be a sign that they've done something right with the show.

I used to have a problem with first person and kidfic, but now I like both of those if they're well written. I used to only be able to read H/cuddy or H/Cam fics, but now I really enjoy H/W and occassionally even H/C. I can't get into any fics with Foreman. I also can't handle AU if it takes place in a different period in history, or if the characters are younger versions of themselves. Mpreg and RPS are also totally off-limits for me. I usually don't like one-shots, although some are very good, because I prefer a longer story that I can really sink into. I really need angst lol, and I can handle OOC in extreme situations, such as torture fics or death fics, because the situation is so extreme. I can handle Wilson going all soft and devoting his life to caring for sick House - but I couldn't handle some of the torture fics if it was House caring for disabled Wilson. When House becomes all sappy, I can't read the fic. That's the number one OOC problem I encounter.

I think Namaste put it best when she said torture fics just aren't 'my cup of tea'. Hehehehe. I'm sorry, Sheepie, you know I love you, but you do recall writing The Contract, don't you? And that thing called In The Mouth of Madness? Both of which I would absolutely classify as torture. I, too, find it hilarious that the person who launched an entire universe of "Let's Torture House" fics said that. Both of my children are parrots. Onomatopoeia (Poeia) is a Mitred Conure and Annabella is a Yellow Collar (mini) Macaw. And both have beaks capable of punishing anyone they disapprove of. And speaking of children (don't have 'em, don't want 'em), the House with kid fics that work for me are the ones that are still about House. We've seen, in lots of episodes, that he likes kids.I think it is a job he would take seriously and, as we we know from the Stacy arc, when he loves, it is pretty much absolute and all-consuming. So the ones where he tries to find a way to be a good, if unconventional, parent despite his rather obvious disqualifications for the job can work for me. So far I've found 3 fics/series about House as a parent that I enjoyed -- Churchverse (Church actually barely appeared in them until he was a teenager), His Fathers' Son (House dealing with the fact that what he wants and what he thinks is best for the people he loves are incompatible) and Rockabye (vignettes about his parenting style.) When I started reading House fics, the idea that I would ever read slash was inconceivable. And now I like it, possibly because some of the best writers in this fandom have chosen that for their medium. I still generally prefer the ones that leave a lot to the imagination rather than the "insert Tab A into Slot B" variety. But some of those work for me too.

What's fun, Kerry, is to get House to take care of Wilson for a while without getting all sappy and OOC. It can be done. Really it can. But I'm with you: the moment I see House get sappy, I hit the back button. For what it's worth I find Sappy!Wilson to be very OOC too. He is naturally a lot gentler than House, and he has that need to care for people, but he's really a very emotionally reserved kind of guy. Witness the fact that he could be so depressed he was on some kind of meds, but he managed to hide all that from House. Wilson does not go around hugging people or talking about his emotions. So for me it's just as delicate a thing to write Wilson taking care of House, as it is to do the other way 'round. Particularly because there's the problem of House's dignity. How much care will House will accept, and how can Wilson go about it so that House will allow it? I think KidsNurse is the master of that trick. The other thing I can't take in terms of torture-the-characters fic is permanent maiming. There's one story out there currently that I am sure is wonderfully written but that I won't read because of the severe and irreversible damage that was done to House.

Dang, either you guys are incredibly fast, or I keep missing the last page before I post. Sorry if I keep returning to old topics. Blue, I'm totally with you as far as first person goes. I prefer third-person limited with a passion, although I'll make exceptions for the well-written second-person. House fandom, though, is the one that convinced me RPF wouldn't send me to the special hell. (It's a slippery slope, guys. Watch out!)

Oh, me too. I've managed to read one first person Housefic and it was actually Cuddy's POV. Slip an "I" in there and I backbutton like nobody's business. Which is weird, because I like first person fic in other fandoms, like X-Files. :roll: Oddly enough, I love that there's so much second person POV fic in the House fandom. Usually it doesn't work, but there's plenty of great stuff here for some reason. I thought I was the only one :) edit: Yay! Now we are three! I also (strangely) don't mind second person POV. I really can't justify either opinion, since the two are similar in some ways. There's such a fine line for me in Housefic: I love angst, but not too much angst, and not 'manufactured' angst. There are exceptions, though, because I'm fickle. Someone already mentioned The Body Found by fourteencandles and that's one that comes close to the edge for me. The premise was pretty unbelievable, but the execution was wonderful. Another one that comes to mind is an older fic by extrabitter, Knots in which Wilson rapes House. Pretty out-there concept, but it mostly works for me. I think both stories stay in character for the most part, though I really can't see Wilson raping House - he's drunk in the story - or House allowing it to happen.

I very rarely read rape!fic and I will not read one of the House main characters raping another. That's just so not my thing, and I can't see it as in character for any of them. Not unless the character in question had a complete mental breakdown and went truly insane, and that's not something I want to see either. Actually, I'm also annoyed by the tendency of ficcers to turn any antagonistic character (Vogler and especially Tritter) into a rapist. It's too easy/obvious an equation, and I feel it doesn't give the Bad Guys enough credit for complexity. By the end of the arc I really thought Tritter was a cold bastard who took considerable pleasure in hurting House (and Wilson for that matter). But I never could see him as a rapist; I think that sort of (highly illegal) thing would totally violate his sense of himself as a righteous kind of man. It's different for me if the character who commits the rape is an OC who's been shown to be that sort of person -- enjoys inflicting fear and pain, interested in power, and not concerned about law or morality. There are those people out there, obviously. Someone on LJ recently talked about rape!fics and said that they found m/m rape less horrible than m/f, and they figured others tended to feel the same way. And I boggled. I can hardly imagine a worse thing for a man to suffer.

I very rarely read rape!fic and I will not read one of the House main characters raping another. That's just so not my thing, and I can't see it as in character for any of them. Not unless the character in question had a complete mental breakdown and went truly insane, and that's not something I want to see either. I agree, mostly. Though I think there's a line here, too: a story that has one character raping another maliciously I can't really believe, but making a 'mistake'... I don't know, sometimes works for me. Like I said, most of these are not for me. The whole noncon thing in fic is so strange anyway: every fandom has their fics. Actually, I'm also annoyed by the tendency of ficcers to turn any antagonistic character (Vogler and especially Tritter) into a rapist. It's too easy/obvious an equation, and I feel it doesn't give the Bad Guys enough credit for complexity. By the end of the arc I really thought Tritter was a cold bastard who took considerable pleasure in hurting House (and Wilson for that matter). But I never could see him as a rapist; I think that sort of (highly illegal) thing would totally violate his sense of himself as a righteous kind of man. How sick am I that I find Tritter as rapist fine to read, but not Vogler as rapist?

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