So... what is it that's so extremely addictive about sick!Wilson fics?

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

Hi, fellow addicts.

I'm wondering whether it's possible to put a finger on what, exactly, is so attractive about sick!Wilson fics :)

I know that making Wilson sick/injured/abused provides an opportunity for House to look after him and show concern, and that brings joy to slashy little hearts all over the Housefic community. Non-slashy little hearts too, I should imagine.

I'm not sure that's the whole story, though. Or at least not for me. When I read that theory, I spent some time thinking about whether I'd be interested in reading a sick!Wilson fic in which House didn't feature - perhaps because Wilson was stuck in the woods, or something, with no possiblity of rescue at any stage -- (somebody grab that bunny...) -- and I concluded that my twisted little heart would probably be pounding at the Wilson torture even if House wasn't there. Maybe not pounding quite so hard, but pounding nonetheless.

When I thought further about it, it occurred to me that my sick!Wilson fixation isn't the first manifestation of this rather odd kink in my personality :)  My favourite episodes of various well-loved TV episodes over the years have always involved my favourite male character falling off his horse, or being shot by an outlaw, or battered by an alien, or even (most squeeful of all, in some ways) struck by the other person in my OTP of the time. (Who remembers when Starsky hit Hutch? Or was it the other way round? When I read in the Radio Times that it was going to happen I'd worked it all out as being simply a ruse to deceive a dastardly criminal gang before the episode came on a week later, but still... the moment lived on in my memory for quite a long time :)

I'm relieved to learn that I'm not entirely alone in this strange fixation, but I'm very interested to know whether anyone out there has any theories on what makes all this Wilson bashing quite so squeeful.

Any thoughts, peeps?

Comments

[lady-insanity.livejournal.com]

Just figured I'd post since I just joined recently. I've noticed that I do this to not just Wilson in the House fandom, but also Reid in my beloved Criminal Minds fandom.

I agree with everything everyone else has said and add this. Maybe what we find so fascinating is a two-fold question. Firstly, we enjoy having the deep inner emotions of our characters layed bare. Secondly, we enjoy the drama and angst that we so blatantly feed off. Not mention we get to humanise someone that we love and adore.

And, this just came to me now. Maybe in some wierd way, we're trying to play God. Think about. We have these characters, and we have total control. Pain is away of exerting power.

Which I think makes me a Sadistic sociopath, but there are worse things to be.

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

Hello :)

Firstly, we enjoy having the deep inner emotions of our characters layed bare. Secondly, we enjoy the drama and angst that we so blatantly feed off. Not mention we get to humanise someone that we love and adore.


Absolutely right, I think. I'm sure that's a large part of it.

And, this just came to me now. Maybe in some wierd way, we're trying to play God. Think about. We have these characters, and we have total control. Pain is away of exerting power.


A very interesting idea! That hadn't occurred to me at all. Certainly I did notice, though, when I started trying to write fics, how bizarre but satisfying it is to be able to direct the characters.

>i>Which I think makes me a Sadistic sociopath, but there are worse things to be.

Lol :) Hmmm....

[(Anonymous)]

Some of it may be that we're processing our own pain/fear/desires through a safe outlet, a fictional character that we identify with and adore. People who feel unloved and alone will identify with a character who appears unloved and alone (and is played by a hot actor, that's very important) and will write fics where their favorite character feels unloved and alone. Someone who wants to feel loved and cared for will write a fic where their favorite character is sick/hurt and someone loves and cares for him (possibly an OC author insert).
The problem comes where the author's notes at the beginning of the fic say "This is a story where Cameron has bulemia, because I had bulemia".

[housepiglet.livejournal.com]

There could well be something in that :)

The problem comes where the author's notes at the beginning of the fic say "This is a story where Cameron has bulemia, because I had bulemia".

*g*