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zeborahI used to write a bunch of fanfic, first (if you don't count juvenilia, and anyway those were... heavily derivative original fiction) Star Trek Voyager and then Due South. It was fun and good practice and ultimately I decided to put my effort into original fiction.
But from time to time, eg when I'm watching the entire first season of Criminal Minds while the end of season four plays out an hour at a time on NZ TV and Hotch is making me nervous in a way that hits all my kinks -- I get the urge to write out my theory of what'll happen to him in the form of fanfic.
In an effort to stave off this urge, I go searching for fanfic on the grounds that if someone else has already written it, I won't have to. Makes sense, right? Yeah, but no, that was a bad idea.
I only searched very cursorily but here's what I found:
1) A fic in which Hotch has turned serial killer and Reid has to help catch him except the two have fallen in love. The first scene was really really hot. But then the writer started writing actual erotic stuff and I got bored.
2) A fic in which Hotch and Prentiss develop a relationship. There was some really sweet stuff in here. However it also suffered from Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome, to wit, Hotch's ex-wife was portrayed as an evil controlling abusive bitch because she dared to divorce the poor martyr even though the show made it fairly clear that she divorced him because she couldn't cope anymore with him regularly abandoning his family to go chasing serial killers.
Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome is widespread in every fandom I've encountered. In Due South the clearest example is Ray Kowalski's ex-wife Stella. On-screen, we see him stalking her. In fanfic, she's frequently portrayed as an emotionally abusive bitch. Strong female characters like Thatcher in Due South or Nechayev in Star Trek TNG become absolute harpies in fanfic. Less assertive women like Francesca Vecchio (Due South) or Deanna Troi (ST:TNG) become in fanfic stupid, whiny and weak; and if they try to become more assertive (attending police academy; taking the exams for commander) that's a joke, at best, to the fangirls. To be fair, in ST:Voyager, Admiral Paris also suffers from the vilification of those who worship Tom Paris, by becoming anything from a neglectful father to a child molester, so it's not *just* women; but it's predominantly women. I gather from smallcaps that the misogyny is endemic to Supernatural show and fandom, and fangirl pressure has made things even worse on the show.
The creepy thing in Criminal Minds fandom, though, is that we've seen episodes about stalkers obsessing over their object of affection to the point of wanting to kill people who are a "threat" to them in any way, or a "threat" to the stalker; and I see in Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome echoes of the way obsessing over a character turns to vilifying any woman who in any way hurts him or conversely is too close to him for the fangirl's comfort.
3) A fic in which a (female, fwiw) scientist creates a love potion "for personal purposes" and it's stolen and released into a) Quantico, causing everyone there (though we focus on Hotch and Reid) to jump for the nearest body and have wild passionate sex, then, "if their biochemistry is compatible", to require sex with said partner every few days for the rest of their life on pain of death; and b) Congress, ditto, at a time when they're being live telecast. Hijinks ensue. Hotch and Reid bond for life. The public inexplicably thinks that an orgy of politicians is hot. Congress sees the error of its homophobic ways and enacts gay marriage so Hotch and Reid can live happily ever after.
No-one ever points out that this love potion is indistinguishable from a date rape pill. People whose "biochemistry" isn't "compatible" (and what the heck does that even mean?) barely even suffer embarrassment and pregnancy is just a "Eh, I always wanted a baby anyway. If you're the Dad you'll help support it, right?" We have no broken marriages. No STDs. No trauma. And no trauma. Also no trauma. Did I mention no trauma? I'm just saying here.
---
So now, not only do I want to write a fic about:
1) Hotch as serial killer;
but I also want to write fic about:
2) Hotch's ex-wife's painful decision to divorce him because, though she loved him, she couldn't cope with the stress of his job, and she knew that if she asked him to give up that job he'd be miserable; and
3) A random love potion infestation in which being under the influence is terrifying, the aftermath involves serious trauma, and those who have bonded long-term but don't actually *like* each other have to nevertheless find some way to stay alive.
This was not my original intention.
But from time to time, eg when I'm watching the entire first season of Criminal Minds while the end of season four plays out an hour at a time on NZ TV and Hotch is making me nervous in a way that hits all my kinks -- I get the urge to write out my theory of what'll happen to him in the form of fanfic.
In an effort to stave off this urge, I go searching for fanfic on the grounds that if someone else has already written it, I won't have to. Makes sense, right? Yeah, but no, that was a bad idea.
I only searched very cursorily but here's what I found:
1) A fic in which Hotch has turned serial killer and Reid has to help catch him except the two have fallen in love. The first scene was really really hot. But then the writer started writing actual erotic stuff and I got bored.
2) A fic in which Hotch and Prentiss develop a relationship. There was some really sweet stuff in here. However it also suffered from Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome, to wit, Hotch's ex-wife was portrayed as an evil controlling abusive bitch because she dared to divorce the poor martyr even though the show made it fairly clear that she divorced him because she couldn't cope anymore with him regularly abandoning his family to go chasing serial killers.
Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome is widespread in every fandom I've encountered. In Due South the clearest example is Ray Kowalski's ex-wife Stella. On-screen, we see him stalking her. In fanfic, she's frequently portrayed as an emotionally abusive bitch. Strong female characters like Thatcher in Due South or Nechayev in Star Trek TNG become absolute harpies in fanfic. Less assertive women like Francesca Vecchio (Due South) or Deanna Troi (ST:TNG) become in fanfic stupid, whiny and weak; and if they try to become more assertive (attending police academy; taking the exams for commander) that's a joke, at best, to the fangirls. To be fair, in ST:Voyager, Admiral Paris also suffers from the vilification of those who worship Tom Paris, by becoming anything from a neglectful father to a child molester, so it's not *just* women; but it's predominantly women. I gather from smallcaps that the misogyny is endemic to Supernatural show and fandom, and fangirl pressure has made things even worse on the show.
The creepy thing in Criminal Minds fandom, though, is that we've seen episodes about stalkers obsessing over their object of affection to the point of wanting to kill people who are a "threat" to them in any way, or a "threat" to the stalker; and I see in Fangirl Misogyny Syndrome echoes of the way obsessing over a character turns to vilifying any woman who in any way hurts him or conversely is too close to him for the fangirl's comfort.
3) A fic in which a (female, fwiw) scientist creates a love potion "for personal purposes" and it's stolen and released into a) Quantico, causing everyone there (though we focus on Hotch and Reid) to jump for the nearest body and have wild passionate sex, then, "if their biochemistry is compatible", to require sex with said partner every few days for the rest of their life on pain of death; and b) Congress, ditto, at a time when they're being live telecast. Hijinks ensue. Hotch and Reid bond for life. The public inexplicably thinks that an orgy of politicians is hot. Congress sees the error of its homophobic ways and enacts gay marriage so Hotch and Reid can live happily ever after.
No-one ever points out that this love potion is indistinguishable from a date rape pill. People whose "biochemistry" isn't "compatible" (and what the heck does that even mean?) barely even suffer embarrassment and pregnancy is just a "Eh, I always wanted a baby anyway. If you're the Dad you'll help support it, right?" We have no broken marriages. No STDs. No trauma. And no trauma. Also no trauma. Did I mention no trauma? I'm just saying here.
---
So now, not only do I want to write a fic about:
1) Hotch as serial killer;
but I also want to write fic about:
2) Hotch's ex-wife's painful decision to divorce him because, though she loved him, she couldn't cope with the stress of his job, and she knew that if she asked him to give up that job he'd be miserable; and
3) A random love potion infestation in which being under the influence is terrifying, the aftermath involves serious trauma, and those who have bonded long-term but don't actually *like* each other have to nevertheless find some way to stay alive.
This was not my original intention.
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no subject
Date: 2009-06-19 02:48 pm (UTC)Also:
There's a terrific AU by shinealightonme, with Prentiss interviewing Hotch The Vigilante Serial Killer. Here: http://shinealightonme.livejournal.com/10366.html
(And when you reach the season finale: http://bibliothekara.livejournal.com/3977.html )
no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 05:27 am (UTC)(Season 1 is just *full* of Hotch-as-potential-serial-killer moments. It's quite glorious.)
I'll read your story in approximately two weeks. :-)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 10:25 am (UTC)But of course, the great thing about these little hints? They're immediately counteracted by Hotch being awesome instead, choosing to overcome his horrible upbringing and currently sucky life, and be good and ethical.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 12:13 pm (UTC)OTOH, it'd be so much *fun* to see Hotch as serial killer, and if that makes me twisted, well, I knew I was twisted already. :-)
no subject
Date: 2009-07-03 06:22 am (UTC)...It didn't work....
But it's still a great story!
Just... damn, that was one hell of an unsettling season finale. Not even the shot, but the voiceover after four years of quotes, and the drinking making me think "Oh hell. When did that start?" and the look on his face as he turns.
I'm now working on rewriting my fic from scratch, as expounded upon in my latest post.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-03 04:39 pm (UTC)And now reading your post ( especially the bit with Reid getting all intervention-recovering addict about Hotch's whiskey) I am really looking forward to your story. It sounds very dark, which is a place I'm usually not able to go with my fic. (Them being "make bibliothekara feel better using Garcia/Prentiss as audience-identification characters talking through it" kind-of-things.)
Also: I've only ever seen the movie version of the Bone Collector, but the idea of Hotch still trying to do his job, paralyzed/recovering from his hospital bed is... *wibbles* Since I managed to convince 50% of myself that he is going to survive, there's been a plot bunny running around in my head involving a recovering Hotch trying to work from home, and his nurse taking his cell phone away. He then wheedles Garcia into emailing him/setting up a vid-conference link with his laptop. All the while, the team does their best to a) facilitate his recovery and b) mother-hen him into calming down a little.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-04 11:33 am (UTC)Speaking of which, having watched the final scene another time (or ten), I actually have one more theory:
Hotch clearly sees movement in the glass of the picture hanging on the wall. (I don't think he could see sufficient detail to identify Foyet though.) He probably runs quickly through the possibilities -- if it was a break-in the guy would be panicking, not stealthy, so it must be an ambush -- because it takes a moment before his lips part in what would in anyone else be, "Oh, shitshitshitshit."
Then there's the click of the gun. And he's expecting to be shot; his head turns and he looks down almost accepting-like. And nothing happens. He puzzles at this momentarily -- we see his eyes flicker -- and realises the guy's not going to shoot while his back is turned: therefore the guy must want something from him. So he turns, and as he does he puts on his patented "You criminal, me stern FBI agent" face.
And it's Foyet, and he knows that Foyet needs to dominate etc, so he refuses to be dominated and holds that look -- intensifies it to a proper Hotchly Death-Glare of Doom, and--
Well, cut to black. But I'm more and more of the opinion that there's no way Foyet would kill him while he's wearing a look like that, any more than he could kill Morgan while he was unconscious. He might fire to cripple or to frighten, but he can't kill Hotch until he gets some emotional reaction from him. (...Right? Right? How long is it until September anyway?)
But anyway, in this theory Hotch is being tactical instead of death-by-unsub suicidal. Less fun for angst-fic, more likely for tv.
(Randomly: I see people being surprised that Foyet came after Hotch instead of Morgan. That's not at all surprising to me for two reasons: 1) psychological -- Morgan escaped by being unconscious, Hotch escaped by hanging up on him; add to that Hotch's status as leader of the BAU and Hotch is by far and away the more compelling of the two prizes; 2) practical -- the 'trophy' he has which he's going to leave on the victim is Morgan's credentials. If he leaves them on Morgan, no-one would notice, and he needs to be noticed.)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-19 03:14 pm (UTC)OTOH, the non FMS writing occasionally rocks.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 05:32 am (UTC)And yeah, there's always good stuff out there too. If only FMS was one of the things people agreed should be included in the warnings....
no subject
Date: 2009-06-19 09:05 pm (UTC)3) A random love potion infestation in which being under the influence is terrifying, the aftermath involves serious trauma, and those who have bonded long-term but don't actually *like* each other have to nevertheless find some way to stay alive.
I'd read that. And it illustrates one of the things I desperately want in my fiction: writers who take things to the last consequence, who don't stop at the surface.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 05:28 am (UTC)Grr. Totally Not Helping.
:-)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-26 07:10 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 04:37 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-20 05:31 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 02:22 pm (UTC)I came over to check out your journal bc of stuff you said over at cerata's post on rape re: virginity (um, ditto?) and all I can say now is "you had me at "watching the first season of cm""
*is still giggling*
will try to think of good cm fanfic when I've stopped giggling.
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 11:34 pm (UTC)Although I could almost see Hotch/JJ, but that's only because she's about the only person in season 4 who's managed to make him smile ("Gas") and even so I still like her with Will. <ponders> Prentiss/Todd I could see, but I'm not sure it'd be *interesting* to read about.
Hotch&Reid together have some of my favourite scenes in the show, but that doesn't mean I want to see them together in bed, y'know? It just means I want to see Hotch be a truly excellent and chilling serial vigilante and Reid exercise all his genius to track him down and bring him in. Unfortunately fanfic tends to be optimised for romance...
(Also, Back in the Good Old Days fandom seemed a lot more centralised and fanfic better indexed than it is now. OTOH, this may be for the best because I should really stop procrastinating on my Real Writing. Just as soon as I've finished this Hotch fic...)
no subject
Date: 2009-06-30 11:37 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-01 12:43 am (UTC)Personally, I'm just fine seeing Reid in bed with anyone. :) Still, all slash Hotches and slash Reids are nothing like the canon ones. bc yes, Bear is right, they are a family. and i'd much prefer a Reid that is still a healthy member of that family.
(and no, that wasn't the fic I was going to rec. :) unless you were thinking I was going to rec Bear's, in which case yes.)