Why is most non-Loss SVU fic so bad?
Man, another visit to FF.net, and I'm ready to turn in my SVU fic gun. I guess I was spoiled, first in GH and then in Oz, by a plethora of really good, really different stories. To be fair, the collection in almost any fandom at FF.net is atrocious. But there really isn't a lot of good SVU fic anywhere. With the exception of post-Loss fic, it's all a rehash of the same plots (Olivia is "rapped;" Olivia has quadruplets; A Stablerette is "rapped;" Olivia has sextuplets; Alex is in danger; Olivia has octuplets...).
The only classic story I've read is Fide et Amour, which is unfortunately in an unfinished state. And I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. There are some good Alex/Olivia stories out there, but none that I would consider great. And since Alex/Olivia is not my preferred relationship, they don't always hold my interest. Especially if Elliot is completely not present or is just a jerk, which happens far too frequently.
In almost all Benson/Stabler shipper fics, and in many Benson/Cabot fics, Stabler is portrayed as an unpleasant ass, with a laundry list of irritating and, IMO, out of character, traits. A sample:
1. He's homophobic.
There is not one shred of evidence in SVU canon to suggest that Stabler is in any way threatened by, fearful of or disgusted by gay people. There is, in fact, a long list of proof to the contrary.
The most common argument that he could be homophobic comes from his statement in "Abomination" that "maybe some people do choose to be gay."
First off, there isn't anything inherently homophobic in the statement. He doesn't go on to say, "And if they so choose, they are disgusting freaks." In fact, on more than one occasion in the past, Stabler has argued that no one would choose the pain of being gay in our society. In this episode, he's trying to figure out what makes certain people try not to be gay. His statement is more of a question than anything and in no way implies that he believes it or that he would hold it against anyone if he or she did choose to be gay. It's kind of weird to me that it's so threatening for a character to simply ask a question, seek some knowledge. I would think that would be a good thing, especially given the proof we have in previous episode and later on, in that very episode, that Stabler opposes homophobia.
The other argument probably stems back to the episode "Fallacy," in which Stabler has a pretty callous attitude towards Cheryl Avery, the transgendered perp. While Benson is very sympathetic, I think Stabler's attitude is more a result of the havoc Cheryl Avery wrought than any particular anti-transgendered bias. And, I would add, though gay, lesbian and bisexual issues are often combined with the transgendered, being gay and being transgendered are not the same thing.
Not that bias against the transgendered would be an appealing quality in Elliot. My point is that a) I don't think he is and b) that doesn't make him homophobic.
2. He's some kind of lower/middle class yahoo threatened by Alex's gender, upper class bearing and education.
Since when is Stabler some mindless schlub? I realize he has four kids and a wife and he doesn't live on the Upper East Side. And there have been some funny scenes in which he's clueless/amazed when considering the price of certain items. So we know he is not a member of the upper crust.
But nothing in either his vocabulary or demeanor has ever suggested that he resents Alex for being rich, or thinks of her in terms of class.
I know that fic is for delving into what we don't see onscreen, and it's plausible, I guess, that Elliot could feel that way. But usually, his attitudes or reactions are so crass that he's rendered unrecognizable.
(The converse is also annoying to me. I've read a bunch of stories where Alex is essentially deigning to dine at the Stablers and she and/or Olivia make subtle or not-so-subtle digs at the middle class spread.
Alex isn't the Queen of England, for fuck's sake. She works in the DA's office and went to college and law school. I think she has some experience with the plastic-spoon set.)
As for the sexism - we all know Elliot is a protective father/husband. But he's never treated Olivia as anything other than an equal. And I don't think Alex's gender has any effect on Elliot's opinion of her. (Except when he wants to fuck her ;)
3. Elliot the jerk/fool to Olivia the martyr
Lord above, almost every E/O fic I read makes me want to tear my hair out. Olivia is almost always smarter, braver, stronger, funnier, wiser, stabler, more capable, more compassionate, more understanding and a better parent than Elliot. She is also almost always the one who is wronged by Elliot, causing him to spend most of the story chasing and or/apologizing to her.
I've read more than one story in which Olivia (of course) gets pregnant and then is the more capable parent, telling Elliot how to do certain things like give the kids (because invariably, there's more than one) a bath. I mean, come on. If there is ONE area in which Elliot should be allowed to have some greater knowledge, it's parenting. But nope, Olivia is almost always the one who knows what to do, what to say, when to pull back or when to push.
Then there are the ones where Elliot actually is physically violent or threatening towards Olivia, something I just cannot ever see happening.
I'm not sure if it's because women are writing these stories, for the most part, and they identify with Olivia. So perhaps they endow her with all the qualities they'd like to have. Certainly, they are not drawing from canon. Because the uniqueness of Benson's character is that she isn't the typical mother earth figure. She's tough and tender, but her compassion is reserved for the victims. Her personal life gives no indication that she has the emotional tools to handle a romantic relationship, let alone a maternal one.
And why oh why does Olivia always have to get pregnant? Jeez - put a sock on it, O and E!
4. Elliot's Catholic, therefore he's conservative or repressed
We have no evidence that Stabler's religion rules his view of the world. As stated above, he's very gay-friendly. He doesn't seem to have a problem with abortion, even if it might not be okay his own POV. For a middle class cop who grew up in an Irish Catholic family, Stabler is remarkably progressive.
Maybe he shouldn't get credit for it, but there's no reason to assume the worst merely because of his background while ignoring his stated attitudes and behavior.
I'm sure there are more Stablerisms that bug me, but I'll stop before coming off as completely unglued.
And I do realize that Stabler is an unpleasant character for a lot of viewers, who see him as violent and arrogant. But most of the characterizations don't even peg those aspects of his personality properly. At least not in my Stabler-centric opinion.
But in a separate category, I can't leave out SVU male slash
First off, it's mostly Munch and Fin. And that is just so wrong. "Fide" is the only good Stabler slash I have ever read. And it's good because he's not slashed with anyone actually in the SVU. I guess that's why SVU male slash sucks - there are no good pairings. The worst I ever read was Stabler/Huang, but I can't go into details on why. My brain refuses to remember.
At least the femslash is good. Not that there isn't some appalling A/O stuff out there, as well as an alarming increase in fics with Casey slash ::shudder:: But overall, the Alex/Olivia stories are better written, more in character and more compelling than other pairings.
Score one for the girls!
And thanks for listeing, if you made it through the whole rant. Comments/objections/bitter personal rants welcome.
The only classic story I've read is Fide et Amour, which is unfortunately in an unfinished state. And I don't think that's going to change anytime soon. There are some good Alex/Olivia stories out there, but none that I would consider great. And since Alex/Olivia is not my preferred relationship, they don't always hold my interest. Especially if Elliot is completely not present or is just a jerk, which happens far too frequently.
In almost all Benson/Stabler shipper fics, and in many Benson/Cabot fics, Stabler is portrayed as an unpleasant ass, with a laundry list of irritating and, IMO, out of character, traits. A sample:
1. He's homophobic.
There is not one shred of evidence in SVU canon to suggest that Stabler is in any way threatened by, fearful of or disgusted by gay people. There is, in fact, a long list of proof to the contrary.
The most common argument that he could be homophobic comes from his statement in "Abomination" that "maybe some people do choose to be gay."
First off, there isn't anything inherently homophobic in the statement. He doesn't go on to say, "And if they so choose, they are disgusting freaks." In fact, on more than one occasion in the past, Stabler has argued that no one would choose the pain of being gay in our society. In this episode, he's trying to figure out what makes certain people try not to be gay. His statement is more of a question than anything and in no way implies that he believes it or that he would hold it against anyone if he or she did choose to be gay. It's kind of weird to me that it's so threatening for a character to simply ask a question, seek some knowledge. I would think that would be a good thing, especially given the proof we have in previous episode and later on, in that very episode, that Stabler opposes homophobia.
The other argument probably stems back to the episode "Fallacy," in which Stabler has a pretty callous attitude towards Cheryl Avery, the transgendered perp. While Benson is very sympathetic, I think Stabler's attitude is more a result of the havoc Cheryl Avery wrought than any particular anti-transgendered bias. And, I would add, though gay, lesbian and bisexual issues are often combined with the transgendered, being gay and being transgendered are not the same thing.
Not that bias against the transgendered would be an appealing quality in Elliot. My point is that a) I don't think he is and b) that doesn't make him homophobic.
2. He's some kind of lower/middle class yahoo threatened by Alex's gender, upper class bearing and education.
Since when is Stabler some mindless schlub? I realize he has four kids and a wife and he doesn't live on the Upper East Side. And there have been some funny scenes in which he's clueless/amazed when considering the price of certain items. So we know he is not a member of the upper crust.
But nothing in either his vocabulary or demeanor has ever suggested that he resents Alex for being rich, or thinks of her in terms of class.
I know that fic is for delving into what we don't see onscreen, and it's plausible, I guess, that Elliot could feel that way. But usually, his attitudes or reactions are so crass that he's rendered unrecognizable.
(The converse is also annoying to me. I've read a bunch of stories where Alex is essentially deigning to dine at the Stablers and she and/or Olivia make subtle or not-so-subtle digs at the middle class spread.
Alex isn't the Queen of England, for fuck's sake. She works in the DA's office and went to college and law school. I think she has some experience with the plastic-spoon set.)
As for the sexism - we all know Elliot is a protective father/husband. But he's never treated Olivia as anything other than an equal. And I don't think Alex's gender has any effect on Elliot's opinion of her. (Except when he wants to fuck her ;)
3. Elliot the jerk/fool to Olivia the martyr
Lord above, almost every E/O fic I read makes me want to tear my hair out. Olivia is almost always smarter, braver, stronger, funnier, wiser, stabler, more capable, more compassionate, more understanding and a better parent than Elliot. She is also almost always the one who is wronged by Elliot, causing him to spend most of the story chasing and or/apologizing to her.
I've read more than one story in which Olivia (of course) gets pregnant and then is the more capable parent, telling Elliot how to do certain things like give the kids (because invariably, there's more than one) a bath. I mean, come on. If there is ONE area in which Elliot should be allowed to have some greater knowledge, it's parenting. But nope, Olivia is almost always the one who knows what to do, what to say, when to pull back or when to push.
Then there are the ones where Elliot actually is physically violent or threatening towards Olivia, something I just cannot ever see happening.
I'm not sure if it's because women are writing these stories, for the most part, and they identify with Olivia. So perhaps they endow her with all the qualities they'd like to have. Certainly, they are not drawing from canon. Because the uniqueness of Benson's character is that she isn't the typical mother earth figure. She's tough and tender, but her compassion is reserved for the victims. Her personal life gives no indication that she has the emotional tools to handle a romantic relationship, let alone a maternal one.
And why oh why does Olivia always have to get pregnant? Jeez - put a sock on it, O and E!
4. Elliot's Catholic, therefore he's conservative or repressed
We have no evidence that Stabler's religion rules his view of the world. As stated above, he's very gay-friendly. He doesn't seem to have a problem with abortion, even if it might not be okay his own POV. For a middle class cop who grew up in an Irish Catholic family, Stabler is remarkably progressive.
Maybe he shouldn't get credit for it, but there's no reason to assume the worst merely because of his background while ignoring his stated attitudes and behavior.
I'm sure there are more Stablerisms that bug me, but I'll stop before coming off as completely unglued.
And I do realize that Stabler is an unpleasant character for a lot of viewers, who see him as violent and arrogant. But most of the characterizations don't even peg those aspects of his personality properly. At least not in my Stabler-centric opinion.
But in a separate category, I can't leave out SVU male slash
First off, it's mostly Munch and Fin. And that is just so wrong. "Fide" is the only good Stabler slash I have ever read. And it's good because he's not slashed with anyone actually in the SVU. I guess that's why SVU male slash sucks - there are no good pairings. The worst I ever read was Stabler/Huang, but I can't go into details on why. My brain refuses to remember.
At least the femslash is good. Not that there isn't some appalling A/O stuff out there, as well as an alarming increase in fics with Casey slash ::shudder:: But overall, the Alex/Olivia stories are better written, more in character and more compelling than other pairings.
Score one for the girls!
And thanks for listeing, if you made it through the whole rant. Comments/objections/bitter personal rants welcome.