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Why I don't give Wee!Chester fic a chance
Sep. 3rd, 2008 08:45 amSometimes I do read SPN fic. I go in stages - I won't read at all, and then one day all I'll do is read. Then I'm back to not reading again. One thing I can't get into is
First of all, I really hate the term Wee!Chester. Really, I do. It annoys me. Maybe because when I think wee, I think of the definition that doesn't mean small.
Mostly, though, I can't even give most fic exploring the Winchesters' early years a chance because far, far too many authors villify John. I cannot tell you the number of stories I've tested out and had to back away from because John was turned into an abusive son of a bitch. I don't just mean the issues of neglect were a hot fic topic - that, I can understand. It happened. John made those mistakes. I'm not even talking John from Sam's fairly skewed point of view (I could see him thinking everything John said was denigrating to him). I'm talking out-and-out abuse.
Example: Sam falls down and skins his knee, and John rips into him, belittles him, and intimidates him. Dean, meanwhile, stands around. (Seriously?)
Example: Sam or Dean is on deathbed. Multiple phone calls to John get no response. (Uhm, yeah, I know people are extrapolating this from Faith, when Sam calls John and gets no reply. I get it, I do, but I guess I warp fanon into the fact John keeps constant tabs on his boys, though they don't know where he is. He had to stay away to protect them. That was his thinking, not that he was a cold, callous bastard who didn't care his son was dying.)
It's really a shame, because though I'm not into kidfic in any way, shape or form, this particular fandom has an abundance of possibilities to explore. Dean and Sam's formative years had to have been traumatic, and yet something about it also bonded them together and kept them as decent people. Sure, Sam took off for a couple years (can't blame him for that, though even in my limited experience I've seen people unforgiving on that topic too), but I never took that to mean he didn't love his family. He just hated what they did.
And, sure, John was probably a tough taskmaster most of the time, but he had to do something right to have his sons not end up being sociopaths. (See: Nightmare) I know people think the only thing that saved Dean and Sam was each other, but...that's a very romantic (literary) notion. I think John screwed both of his kids up and didn't necessarily show them love the way they each needed; he was too screwed up himself. But that love was there. He was not a demon. (Well, you know, except that one time.) I think by the end of S1, both Dean and Sam were starting to realize their individual perspective was not the only one.
Anyway, I'm rambling without coherency. John seems to be very black and white in fandom. I tend to see the guy as all kinds of grey. Seeing him turned into a bigger villian than a MotW in fanfiction is not my cuppa. In fact, it makes me angry.
First of all, I really hate the term Wee!Chester. Really, I do. It annoys me. Maybe because when I think wee, I think of the definition that doesn't mean small.
Mostly, though, I can't even give most fic exploring the Winchesters' early years a chance because far, far too many authors villify John. I cannot tell you the number of stories I've tested out and had to back away from because John was turned into an abusive son of a bitch. I don't just mean the issues of neglect were a hot fic topic - that, I can understand. It happened. John made those mistakes. I'm not even talking John from Sam's fairly skewed point of view (I could see him thinking everything John said was denigrating to him). I'm talking out-and-out abuse.
Example: Sam falls down and skins his knee, and John rips into him, belittles him, and intimidates him. Dean, meanwhile, stands around. (Seriously?)
Example: Sam or Dean is on deathbed. Multiple phone calls to John get no response. (Uhm, yeah, I know people are extrapolating this from Faith, when Sam calls John and gets no reply. I get it, I do, but I guess I warp fanon into the fact John keeps constant tabs on his boys, though they don't know where he is. He had to stay away to protect them. That was his thinking, not that he was a cold, callous bastard who didn't care his son was dying.)
It's really a shame, because though I'm not into kidfic in any way, shape or form, this particular fandom has an abundance of possibilities to explore. Dean and Sam's formative years had to have been traumatic, and yet something about it also bonded them together and kept them as decent people. Sure, Sam took off for a couple years (can't blame him for that, though even in my limited experience I've seen people unforgiving on that topic too), but I never took that to mean he didn't love his family. He just hated what they did.
And, sure, John was probably a tough taskmaster most of the time, but he had to do something right to have his sons not end up being sociopaths. (See: Nightmare) I know people think the only thing that saved Dean and Sam was each other, but...that's a very romantic (literary) notion. I think John screwed both of his kids up and didn't necessarily show them love the way they each needed; he was too screwed up himself. But that love was there. He was not a demon. (Well, you know, except that one time.) I think by the end of S1, both Dean and Sam were starting to realize their individual perspective was not the only one.
Anyway, I'm rambling without coherency. John seems to be very black and white in fandom. I tend to see the guy as all kinds of grey. Seeing him turned into a bigger villian than a MotW in fanfiction is not my cuppa. In fact, it makes me angry.
