Water's October, Right?: House Fanfiction Discussion

I take advantage of the Michigan connection with House and Cuddy's past whenever possible, throwing in specific places I go now -- or went to during the era they would have been in Ann Arbor ... like Cuddy corners someone to talk to when she's at Rick's American Cafe, which was a student bar in the mid-80s. Namaste, I've been in the Ann Arbor music department a few times - I could easily see House sitting around on a Friday afternoon drinking beer with Cuddy in a practice room and screwing around on the piano - in both senses of the word. ETA - So not top of page worthy!

most of the time it's not really necessary to give a lot of description about House's appearance. The great thing about fanfic is that we all already know what he looks like. It's not necessary to describe his eyes or his height or his clothing (unless it's something unusual) I want to break something when I see descriptions of House's intense blue eyes or pianist's fingers. Oh, and enough with describing him as unheathily bony. He's not.

I can't really say that I put much of my own quirks into my fics, largely because I think they're too easily noticeable as not-canon. I do try to rely on my own knowledge of places around Princeton and the surrounding area, to make the story feel more authentic to me, if no one else. (I have yet to work in my favorite ice cream place. I need to get around to that.)

Oh, and enough with describing him as unheathily bony. He's not. Amen to that. House is ... quite muscular, although his usual way of dressing tends to hide that. His height makes him appear thinner than he is, until you see him in one of those t-shirts or (ulp!) shirtless. The only time I'll accept the "bony" description is in a story where there's a reason for the weight loss, such as illness or Sheep attack -- I mean imprisonment and severe bodily harm. As for the personal quirks, I haven't given any of the characters anything major from myself. A few food choices perhaps. Musically I've lent House my appreciation of Warren Zevon, because that made sense to me. Zevon's a classic and his dark, sharp, twisted wit reminds me of House's. If I can ever get House into south Florida you'll see a lot more of my own knowledge and experiences showing up just because I know the setting so well. Maybe that could be one of those conference stories? Hm.

We need someone to go give Hugh a hug and find out: Excuse me Mr Laurie, do you mind if I just feel you up. Purely for practical purposes I assure you.

We need someone to go give Hugh a hug and find out: Excuse me Mr Laurie, do you mind if I just feel you up. Purely for practical purposes I assure you. I'm not quite sure that is what they meant by Sheep Attack :)

(I have yet to work in my favorite ice cream place. I need to get around to that.) Vita, could you possibly mean Thomas Sweet? Yum. :-) I love to see local NJ references in stories. Recently, someone mentioned skeeball on the Jersey Shore (Wildwood, anyone?) and I always give mad props to anyone who mentions Wawa. :-) We definitely need more Housefic that features Wawa prominently. ;-)

Replying to a bunch of posts at once: I want to break something when I see descriptions of House's intense blue eyes or pianist's fingers. I generally agree that physical descriptions of characters we know are unnecessary, but House's eyes are an exception. I think that in real life as well as in fictional characters, sometimes a certain physical feature is so striking that you can't help but notice it all over again, every time. I think if House is staring at you, you really are going to notice his eyes. And there are only so many original variants of 'the most f*cking beautiful blue eyes on earth' you can come up with before you revert to "eyes as blue as Princess Jasmine's genie pants", which kinda takes the reader out of the mood - so 'bright' and 'brilliant' and 'intense' will have to do. (Another feature you're probably going to notice about House is his limp, but the noteworthy thing there is how it affects him, not that it exists. "House's eyes had a habit of skimming the path ahead to make sure it was clear" is more interesting than "House limped to the door". Of course, there are always exceptions.) When it comes to other physical descriptions, I love reading about them when characters have just met, whether show characters or OCs, because it's fascinating to see how other characters view your favorite character before they get to know them. Part of why I love crossovers so much, and even better the ones where the characters get to actually meet, instead of having a shared backstory or fusion AUs. I could easily see House sitting around on a Friday afternoon drinking beer with Cuddy in a practice room and screwing around on the piano - in both senses of the word. You'll see it even more clearly after you've read this :-) ETA - So not top of page worthy! Oh, you guys, I was so hoping we would get to avoid these after leaving TWoP. There is no such thing as not being "top of page worthy". If you don't think your comment is "worthy", whatever that means, don't post it at all - and if you do, don't apologize! We'll love you anyway. As for the personal quirks, I haven't given any of the characters anything major from myself. (That's because you haven't written that fic with the horse riding yet! Come on, people, make her do it.)

I agree - anyone who puts keyboard to Internet is darn worthy of the top of the page because we are all intelligent teddies with good and interesting stuff to say. Be proud of your top of the pagyness! :lol: Oh bugger - the topic. Fan fiction is good. Recently they have been having a fight about if it is a loser past time. Considering I know ff writers who now get paid and work for newspapers - probably not quite so loserish. And anything that keeps me entertained and off the streets has to be a good thing. I mean you don't want hordes of bored House fans roaming the streets during the haitus do you?

how many of your personal kinks (food, music, fashion, whatever) do you manage to work into your stories? House and I are children of the same era (more or less), so, it's very easy. Although, we're both baseball fans, I grew up in Wrigley Field (left field bleachers) from the time I was 10. But I know House is NOT a Cubs fan. House also aappears to have the same eclectic musical tastes I have, so that gets worked into my fic as well. But I do try to have it make sense for him. I see him as seeing himself and Monk as kindered spirits of a kind, so I have House playing Monk (THelonious) on the piano from time to time. Bill Evans is moody and melancholy, so I have House enjoying Evans' style (as I do). I love Bach and wished I could play piano...just so that I could play anything by him. We know House plays Bach, and he likes Beethoven (in Honeymoon he had Beethoven's biography on the piano), who was also a tragic figure. So, I do conflate my own hobbies and preferences into House (in particular), but try to keep it within what we already know about him from the show.

Vita, could you possibly mean Thomas Sweet? Yum. Mmmm. I like that one, too, but I was actually thinking of the Bent Spoon, which is fairly new, and sells snobby flavors of gelato. A cup of Earl Grey and white chocolate lavender has Wilson written all over it. We definitely need more Housefic that features Wawa prominently. This is true. I really feel that House could get into serious trouble surrounded by Tastykakes, hoagies, and seven flavors of serve-yourself coffee.

A cup of Earl Grey and white chocolate lavender has Wilson written all over it. This is true. I really feel that House could get into serious trouble surrounded by Tastykakes, hoagies, and seven flavors of serve-yourself coffee. And in two comments, you described their differing personalities so well! I can see House as a Wawa kinda guy (perhaps grabbing a Hoagie post-OTB?) Don't know the Bent Spoon (haven't been to Princeton in a few years, but I'll check it out next time I'm there)

Sorry, Roga, but I just can't picture any of these folks riding horses in New Jersey. I just can't -- much as I'd like to. Agreed that if House were staring at you (particularly if at close range) you'd notice those eyes of his -- no matter if you'd known him for years. I've known some people in RL who have one or two very striking things about them, and those traits are always striking no matter how familiar they become. blackmare a lot of Monmouth County is horse country (Monmouth Park racetrack). Colts Neck is only 30 miles from Princeton and is full of horses. So picture the road House test drives the bike on in Autopsy and put them on horses! Even when they have him playing the piano, I hate it when a fic uses "pianist fingers." As for his eyes, when it's pertinent to the story (he's glaring or he's looking around for something) I like it. But so many of the bad writers do a "Gregory House limped into the room, his cornflower orbs glittering..." Gag me with a cliched spoon. Amen to that. House is ... quite muscular, although his usual way of dressing tends to hide that. His height makes him appear thinner than he is, until you see him in one of those t-shirts or (ulp!) shirtless. The only time I'll accept the "bony" description is in a story where there's a reason for the weight loss, He's very broad-shouldered with muscular arms, etc. (pause while Poeia puts a cold washcloth on the nape of her neck) But his body does taper down quite a bit. When you look at shots from the rear, he has a very narrow ass. But I wouldn't call it "bony."

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