I was just about to write,

[hmpf]

in a comment on a fic, that what I enjoy in angst (and some h/c) is not the breaking of a character but the character's fighting back against his or her breaking.

And realised, that makes me Methos in this fic.

*is creeped out by self*

ETA: Specifically, this describes how I choose my objects of obsession:

(s)he never chooses those who are broken easily

Comments

BTW:

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

in my experience, this:

>one huge problem I have with a good deal of the h/c fic in Life on Mars - Sam is so often shown just weeping in misery.

is a general problem of h/c, not just in LoM fandom. I think (and I feel I've already talked to you about this sometime, somewhere; if so: sorry for the repetition!) this has to do with the emotional aim of most h/c, which is to show the closeness of a relationship, or bring about a greater degree of closeness in a relationship. The easiest way of doing that is by turning the emotional need that already exists (or is perceived to exist) into a physical need, i.e. making one character temporarily completely dependent on the other.

So, most h/c isn't *really* particularly interested in the trauma itself, or in the character who is experiencing it - it's all about the relationship, instead. And in LoM fandom, where the majority, I think, is emotionally focused a bit more on Gene than on Sam, I think most people just want to see Gene caring for a temporarily helpless Sam - they need helpless!Sam because something needs to bring out the proverbial 'heart of gold' that must be hidden under Gene's rough shell.

>I'm less interested in the mechanics of the car accident or the immediate damages than I am in what the character must deal with a week later.

This is why I have Sam waking up a fairly long time after the jump in my 'surviving 2.08' fic... It's *not* about the broken bones. *g*