Jimmy is apparently a childhood nickname. The only time Wilson used it was in Sports Medicine when he asked Hank to sign that on his card. But Stacy called him James and when he called Robin at the end of Airborne he said it was James Wilson. House never calls him James and only calls him Jimmy when he's joking: DNR: Say "hi" to my friend, Jimmy. Autopsy. when Wilson suggests steam for House's allergies: Why Jimmy. We’ll talk about this in the morning. Need to Know, at the beginning when Wilson approaches him to find out what happened in Baltimore: Morning, Jimmy. Anybody die while I was gone? Forever, regarding Wilson's upcoming date with Cuddy: She’s got an agenda. Just not one that includes an appearance by Little Jimmy. But the fact is, House rarely calls Wilson anything. He refers to him as Wilson. In the "are you hallucinating" scene in No Reason. Jack say House was calling him "Wilson" and House says "I never call Wilson by his name." I once checked it and that's pretty much true. He uses Wilson's name to get his attention (e.g. "Hey Wilson, guess what Foreman just did!" in Deception) but rarely uses it in conversation. As to the using last names, I think that's from House being lazy about names. Even if he knows people's first names, he doesn't want to have to use different names in different circumstances -- James when they are among friends and co-workers, Dr. Wilson when patients are present. When talking among themselves in the Diagnostics Department, House's influence is apparent. The 4 of them use last names exclusively (or as a joke in Control) and refer to "Cuddy" and "Wilson." And Wilson refers to the others by last name when talking to House but he calls Cuddy "Dr. Cuddy" when talking to her and usually says "Dr. Foreman," etc. when talking to them. And Cuddy uses Dr. xxx most of the time. I actually find it odd that the Dean of Medicine isn't on a first name basis with her department heads. House prefers being called that to Greg. But why she and Wilson aren't on a first name basis mystifies me.

Poeia, I think Wilson's really just as reserved and walled-up as House is. He disguises it better, but he's almost impossible to get to know well. If he and Cuddy aren't on a first-name basis I think it's because that's how Wilson wants it.

Re: first names, I don't think it's that unusual that they call each other by their last names. It depends on the workplace environment. I once worked in a place where everyone was called by their first names, and another where most people were called by their last names, even amongst friends. And once you get used to calling someone a certain way, it feels awkward to change the thought pattern. He uses Wilson's name to get his attention (e.g. "Hey Wilson, guess what Foreman just did!" in Deception) but rarely uses it in conversation. That makes a lot of sense too :-) In RL, people refer to each other by name far less than they do on TV or in writing, so that would just make House... normal.

I think the last name usage may have been a deliberate choice by the producers to stylistically further the procedural elements of the show. Although I don't watch crime procedurals any more, I used to love the CSIs, Law and Order (of every flavor), Cold Case, and Without a Trace. From what I can remember, using last names was par for the course for all of these shows, although first names were occasionally mentioned. Last names function to create professional distance between all of the characters and between the characters and the audience, which is appropriate, IMO. It sort of helps to set the mood or the tone for the show. Looking at it from this viewpoint, it becomes moot to analyze why the characters only use their last names. The reason is based more in the need for storytelling shorthand and less in the relationships between the characters.

Holy cow, look what happens when ya go to work for 8+ hours, this place freakin' explodes! What's odd to me is all the stuff I thought I would never like until I liked it. I didn't think I would like slash at all (not that I have ANYTHING against it but being a 30++ married mother of 4 I didn't think I could identify with it). But House/Wilson is most assuredly my favorite pairing. Why? It has all been discussed to death I'm sure in the HoYAY thread: the banter, the friendship, teh sexee mens mmmmmhmm... I was a LOTR freak before House and never really appreciated Frodo/Sam in anything remotely the same way. Maybe Hobbits just aren't sexy like that :oops: I didn't think I would like historical AU's either, then Nightdog went and wrote the Annals and because of the strength of her other work I had to try it. And it was beautiful, and so I wasn't afraid of other stuff. And on and on. Kid!fic, OT3, even death!fic by the right author can be breathtakingly absorbing. I haven't really tried much Duckling (ewww that worrrrddd) oriented fic or MPREG but again, in the hands of the right person, it would probably be incredible. So, aside from bad grammar, incorrect spelling, or simply poorly written material, I think I like about everything. I think House and Wilson would call each other by last names, mostly, if they called each other anything other than derogatory names. I do like fics where Cuddy is called Lise, though, for some reason.

I've been gone for 3 hours and there's 3 new pages! I love this thread :D A catch-up post: How do people feel about slash? I love slash, but not all the time. Some days I really want to read a hot m/m slash fic, and other days I just want plot. I usually want the smut though :) But also what I ask is how do people think the Interweb is changing peoples' attitudes? If you read or wrote slashHoYAY fic and then was introduced to Damien the poof would you still have the same attitude you would have had ten years ago? I think the internet is changing people's attitudes to be more tolerent. Because now, they're not just insulting their peer, they're insulting a whole comm of people one their computer. The internet makes the whole world out neighborhood, and I think people want to be on good terms with their neighbors. But that goes the other way too... the internet opens up lots of new ideas that people won't agree with. For example, without the internet I would've never found my OTP, H/W, which bothers people. Plus, social networking sites add a whole new level to bullying. So it goes both ways, I guess. As for House and Wilson's sexuallity, I think House just thinks of it as sex, no matter who's involved. He just wants to get off. Wilson is probably a in-the-closet bisexual, because he's been married and has shown attraction to women, but the possibility is there. Plus it just fits in with my grand master H/W plan :) I think I'm in the minority here, but I love kid!fics. House as a dad just... works for me. I love how House is with kids, and a well written kid!fic is probably my favorite type of fic. So here's a question: Do you think Cuddy could be a good mother? Why or why not? Under what circumstances? I don't see Cuddy as a good mom. The hospital is her baby, and she doesn't have time for much else. I can see her being a godmother (has a kid in her life but doesn't have to look after it all the time), but not a mom without some major canon changes. I would like to see a plotline explored though. Mpreg sort of weirds me out. I don't get it really, and I just think it's too sci-fi or whatever. First name stuff turns me off in a fic. I'm not too turned away when House says Jimmy, but the mention of Greg from anyone other than Stacy makes me hit the back button fast. Last thing... I like all genres of fic. I'm pretty easy to please... as long as the characters are IC, I'll read it. Bad grammer and spelling doesn't bother me as long as there's not a lot of it, and tourture and extreme fics are one's that I generally like too. Sorry this was so long... there's a lot of stuff to catch up on =p edited to fix grammer mistake

. In the "are you hallucinating" scene in No Reason. Jack say House was calling him "Wilson" and House says "I never call Wilson by his name." Actually, it was "I never called him Wilson," meaning that in that hallucination, House doesn't say the name "Wilson," though Moriarty claims that House was calling him Wilson -- which is another clue that Moriarty himself is part of the hallucination. No, he doesn't call him "Wilson" that often, mostly when he wants to get his attention, but in that scene he's not claiming that he never does. And of course, he rarely uses it as often as some writers seem to think. And no one has ever called James Wilson "Jim," as I sometimes see. As to why use the last names? Since Sherlock Holmes is the inspiration, I'd say that it's because it's Holmes and Watson, not Sherlock and James/John. And once you establish that House always uses the last name for his best friend, it makes sense to extend that to other people. In a way, I find it to be another way that House keeps people at arm's length, and everyone else falls into the pattern because it's simply easier to maintain the names for everyone.

Ooh, "Jim" drives me crazy. Wilson refers to the others by last name when talking to House but he calls Cuddy "Dr. Cuddy" when talking to her and usually says "Dr. Foreman," etc. when talking to them. Which was why it was so striking when he called Cameron "Allison" in S1 and "Ms. Cameron" in S2. The first seemed friendly, the latter indicated a lack of respect. If he and Cuddy aren't on a first-name basis I think it's because that's how Wilson wants it. I suspect it's how Cuddy wants it. Being a woman in a man's field and being very young for her position, she's probably sensitive to such things and appreciates it when her colleagues and subordinates show her respect. Do you think Cuddy could be a good mother? We know so little about her, don't we? I think she could if she was willing to cut back on her work at the hospital, since being a single parent is a big job unto itself. We've never been given any information on how she plans to handle this, however. From what we know of her character I think she could be if she's willing to make the sacrifices. (I'd say the same thing if her character were a man planning on being a single dad.)

* yeah this place rocks so much more than TWoP, thank you to the creators of this happy place * And I'm not sure which is worse - boyfriend or lover, it just sounds odd coming out of the mouths of two middle aged men, particularly House - but any guys here, what would be the right term to use? Are there any men here? I am always surprised to find them in slashy places. Good question - no clue. But I don't think "boyfriend" and "girlfriend" are necessarily age-specific, though not too credible in House fics, I agree. As far as the first/last names, I'm way guilty of using "Jimmy" in fics because it's sexy, like most diminutives, and because House has used it a few times, though rarely and always in a teasing way. But Wilson has never used "Greg," even when he's being affectionate or teasing. So I have never included it in my fics, but I have read some good and well-characterized fics that use their first names. In real life, we don't use each other's names nearly as much as in fiction, because when writing about two men of approximately the same age, it can be hard to distinguish who's doing what. Pronouns can be confusing and ambiguous. That's how we end up with the dread epithets "the oncologist" and "the older/younger man" and worse. I kinda imagined the last name usage as something that started when they first met lo these 17 years ago at a university, while Wilson was completing his studies and House was doing an internship or residency or somesuch... just my fanwank. But in a university environment, I can see them using last names. I can't picture them meeting, let's say, at one of Stacy's cocktail parties and being introduced as "House - Wilson" and then forever referring to each other by their surnames. Good point about Holmes and Watson, Namaste. Holmes and Watson never used their first names and they were best of friends.

I think if they were together, Wilson would call House his "partner." That's the term gay men of his age and socioeconomic status tend to use. Nobopdy absolutely loves it, because it sounds like you could mean your business partner, but for a grown man in a professional setting, "boyfriend" or "lover" is worse. I have more trouble deciding what House would call Wilson. He might shy away from "partner" because it so smacks of "trying to sound respectable." I can imagine them at a party with donors and such... Wilson, his left hand lightly resting on the small of House's back, extended his right toward Mr. ObscenelyRichPerson. "It's wonderful to meet you, Mr. and Mrs. ObscenelyRichPerson. I'm James Wilson, the head of Oncolgy, and this is my partner, Dr. House. He runs the diagnostics department." Gritting his teeth, House said, "Nice to meetcha." Wilson and the ObscenelyRichPersons chatted for a few minutes about how sad cancer was, until Mrs. ObscenelyRichPerson saw someone she knew. "Adele! You must come over here and meet two of the department heads." She came over, smiling brightly. "Hello! I'm Adele WealthyWidow." House smiled back just as brightly. "I'm House, and this is Wilson, my butt-buddy. We're doctors!" Or something.

Hahaha! I LOLed too. Clearly what House & Wilson need is to get civil partnerhip'd ASAP and then they can both refer to their husband. Though I can't see House doing that either. Not in a serious tone anyway. House does use other teasing pet names for Wilson as well as Jimmy, doesn't he? - at least I v much like the moment in Failure To Communicate when he says 'Hey honey, how are the kids?' to Wilson on the phone. Any other examples of honey or similar?...

Loads of things I want to respond to... Blackmare wrote, 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. I bet I know what story that is! It's not my fault, though. The way all of my over-the-top hurt/comfort stories happen is, someone else--well, actually, it's always been a specific ovine-type personage we all know--does something Absolutely Horrible to House, and I just can't stand it leaving him like that so I have to write a giant, multi-chapter fic about how he got better. If that ovine personage would stop hurting him, I could just write about him having sex, but noooooo. First he becomes zombified in Weird Creepy Rehab, and then he gets his eyes and ears put out in a pocket of the Contractverse. I shudder to think what will happen next. Blue said: 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. Yeah, I found that in writing "Pencils are Dangerous" (in which House is blind, deaf, and has a large nurse with a heart of gold), I had to get him out of the catatonia and interacting with the other characters pretty quickly, or else there was no story to tell. The main Contract-verse stories, where he was less physically debilitated, tend to play around more with the catatonia (or elective mutism) aspect, but those have a lot of physical "business" that keeps it interesting, even without House communicating in words. But yeah--blind, deaf, barely able to move, and unresponsive--there's no much point in writing about that, is there? I think in "Pencils" he's communicating by the second chapter and scheming for world domination by the fifth or sixth. Different topic: Those who don't talk to RL friends about your fic reading and writing, because so much of it is sexual fantasy, how does that square with sharing those same fantasies with people on the internet? Obviously it's different...but what makes it different? And Asynca, if you don't mind my asking, what happens to the zygote in your mpreg fic when it gets beyond the zygote stage and into fetus-dom? Or do I have to wait and read the story to find out? On the "what genres won't you read" question, I'm struggling to come up with anything. I don't read much het, but I'll read House/Cuddy if it's strongly rec'd and not a PWP. I have trouble with deathfics and doubt I'll ever write one, but again, I read those when they're heavily rec'd. I read very little pre-series fic. I don't really know why. But when I see, "After the infarction, House..." or "Wilson and House meet in med school and..." in a summary, I usually stop there. But there too, I've recently read a couple that were highly recommended, and I survived the experience. I don't think I have any desire to write one of those, either. Mpreg, again, very, very little--but if it's recommended by people whose opinion I trust, I'll read it. I'm looking forward to Asynca's take on it. OK, I finally found something I don't read, even if it's rec'd out the wazoo: any of the Vogler rape fics or Tritter rape fics and I don't plan to. I don't think I've read any OC rape fics either--except the one that I'm MSTing. I'm okay with pretend non-con (like in that short House/Chase story I wrote for Get_House_Laid), but anything that eroticizes actual rape just squicks me out. I understand totally about fantasizing about things that would not be at all erotic in real life--half the things the boys get up to in the Threesomeverse I don't think would work anywhere near as well IRL--but eroticizing rape just crosses a line with me.

Where was I? Ah yes - sick as a dog and I've just discovered my candidate doesn't even read the 'effing local newspaper. At the moment this forum is outclassing the Australian Labor party in terms of membership. If we ditched my candidate and put Doctor Scruffy up - shoe-in. First: Pardon me for asking, but where does the fetus gestate? had me in hysterics LT. Second: Would Cuddy make a good mother? Not according to the show. She'd kill the kid off faster than House. House is basically the closest thing she has to a real life irresponsible kiddie and between Cuddy and Wilson they've crippled him, let him get shot and nearly sent him to prison for the rest of his life. Kudos to writers who can make Cuddy Mom work. She has a very maternal side, but I just get visions of a story where Cuddy keeps having to bring the kid into the clinic every five minutes to be patched up. Thirdly: Jimmy/House/Wilson/Hunnybunkins. There is an added challenge with ff. With the show, unless you are both blind and deaf you know that Wilson and House are having a conversation so they don't have to name them all the time. They are just there and you know the show. Unlike what was proposed for 'over there' in every post House doesn't have to say: 'Hello Wilson, my trusty oncologist friend who has had three wives and is my drug enabler' every show. And although I loathe ff stories that feel the need to explain the characters in the first paragraph - Cameron: the brilliant immunology specialist was sitting at her desk (if we are reading ff about House you must assume we might be vaguely familiar with it and we don't need a wikipedia type run down) I feel the ff the writer has to work a little harder. I suppose this is why we get Jimmy and the oncologist, the younger doctor, etc. We just had a writers' festival and apparently one of the biggest problem for writers is 'he said'. I always thought readers never really noticed it, but apparently publishers hate it and all the writers were going 'well how do we get around it? I think it is a bit the same with names. Writers feel they shouldn't be using the same name again and again. I knew a guy who was a shocker. In one non-fiction essay he could use every synomym for something ever thought of. With non-ff if it's a piano call it a piano, not 'a bastion of potential music'. But in fiction it seems to be a little different. Hence why we get love mounds. Hmmm. He stared hypnotically at the big ugly green pen in the centre of the pocket protector. "Do you want to get some food that is not Chinese?" "No, I must go back to my hotel room and think up new ways to meddle with your life." ...I suppose, instead of: "Wanna get some Chinese Jimmijimjim," House said. "Okay Greg, said Jim." The first one took longer to write because I had to get my sick little brain to actually think about what would identify both characters without saying their names. But I agree - whatever name you use it has to be 'right' that the character would say that and considering House says things like panty hamster in crowded hallways the sky's the limit as to what might come out of House's mouth. And in terms of address I feel another problem might be that because House is currently on - older fan readers see another 'wombat' and cry bitterly, but newer House fans my not be quite so narked by that because they haven't been reading three years worth of wide eyed oncologists and canes clattering. People have been using 'love mounds' ever since Barbara Cartland bit into her first chocolate. And of course everyone thinks this is cool and has never been done before because every generation just has to reinvent the wheel. As the lady from the sub-co-committee for 'the wheel' said in Hitchhikers: okay smarty pants, you tell us what colour it should be. ... How next to torture House? Hmmm? Make him run for candicacy in the next election and lecture him endlessly about Industrial Relations laws! Then he'll go mad and I'll send him to an even eviler asylum that Doctor Leursson's: Canberra! But I think writing about violence and sex are a bit the same. I have a friend who is trying to write erotica and for me as a reader I find hinting, but not totally explaining the whole intracies of the... TUBE OF LUBE ... can be more enticing (or more scary). It's a bit like the reverse of knowing your parents have actually had sex at some point.