Now that was.... wow. *whistles* That was excellent. That tiny little detail, right there. Oh, that was some good thinking. Some very good thinking.
I got here thanks to paian, and it was so worth the last few hours of reading. This is an excellent story. It pulled me right in. Very painful topic, very... delicately handled. And there are such delicious IC moments for all of them! And yay! for action, and all the facts of canon so wonderfully "hooked" in the story :)=
On the deeper-thoughts side: I do get a little notion of Sam being a little... hm... underappreciated? From this and the short story that comes right after... Maybe just not the "mainstream" interpretation of Sam. I can't really place it - perhaps you have a post somewhere around here, or would be inclined to share your view on Sam, to make me better understand your take on her?
Anyway, excellent fic. I rarely ever read gen these days, being a hopeless slasher, but now I'm beginning to think I'm missing out on something very good...
Damn, I sound so pathetic. Sorry, it's late night, and bottom line is: this story rocks. Keep more coming :)=
From the show, I get that Sam is smart, ambitious and professional. Going further than that, I interpret her as emotionally repressed. This is an endearing trait to me, because it's a flaw I can well relate to. As I see it, she's had to be tough from such a young age, and it's not until Season 8 that she begins to realize she's strong enough not to bother with being tough. Strength can handle vulnerability, whereas tough cannot (in my vernacular, anyway). I have a lot of affection for her.
I think... and hope... that in the final chapters (which I just completed in first draft today), it'll become clear that alt-Sam has come into her own, and that Daniel was being an ass to her in the earlier chapters. Hopefully, this will put it into better perspective.
As for the other short story you brought up - Find Your Way, right? I'm not sure what you're seeing there that strikes you as "underappreciative", so I'm not sure what I should try to explain. Hmm. I felt she got very slighted in Full Circle, and I tried to address that by showing how underappreciated she was *in the episode*.
Interesting that both stories deal, tangentially or directly, with scenes in which Daniel is dismissive of Sam, IMO. I think that says more about Daniel than Sam, but maybe it comes off as authorial voice, especially without those final chapters on the Moebius tag...?
I think that says more about Daniel than Sam, but maybe it comes off as authorial voice
I think that's it. I think that's how I read it -- it was from Jack's POV, and to me it came out as the correct way to see things (correct because it comes from the narrator, and I didn't perceive the narrator as biased). That's where I got the impression of Sam being judged unfairly by, well, the author. I know that's a leap I shouldn't take, as a reader who reads consciously, but I couldn't help but to have that impression.
In the light of this -- and what you said about Daniel being an ass to Sam in this story, because oh, he was -- I'll eagerly wait how you play this out in the next chapters. Because I *got* it that (in the short story) it meant she was underappreciated in the episode. She is generally repressed by the writers in the series, I think (what with the lines they sometimes give her *facepalm*), and it's very engaging to see when someone treats her like a normal person for a change.
In short, I agree with you about Sam, and I can't wait to see where you take this view. I'll re-read the short to see if I haven't changed my opinion in the meantime, and I'm waiting for the last chapters of this one.
And again, because I just have to say it: the characterization is excellent. Daniel is just angry enough, he is just enough "our" Daniel. The rest of SG-1 is so slightly themselves and not themselves, it's wonderful to watch. You've actually made me like them, which makes the whole Moebius thing a little less heartbreaking. I can't wait to see where you take this next :)=
I think that's it. I think that's how I read it -- it was from Jack's POV, and to me it came out as the correct way to see things (correct because it comes from the narrator, and I didn't perceive the narrator as biased). That's where I got the impression of Sam being judged unfairly by, well, the author. I know that's a leap I shouldn't take, as a reader who reads consciously, but I couldn't help but to have that impression.
Well, please do let me know how it strikes you if you do re-read. I love feedback, love learning how to improve my communication of ideas. In this fandom, I believe there's a limit to an author's ability to make it clear that this is how she sees (for example) Jack seeing Sam, rather than that this is how the author sees Sam. Especially in one short story, written from just one POV. But I know I don't successfully convey things the way I mean to every time. ;)
And again, because I just have to say it: the characterization is excellent. Daniel is just angry enough, he is just enough "our" Daniel. The rest of SG-1 is so slightly themselves and not themselves, it's wonderful to watch. You've actually made me like them, which makes the whole Moebius thing a little less heartbreaking. I can't wait to see where you take this next :)=
Oh, good, good, good! Yay! I hope it lives up to expectations. I'm going get it to my betas over the weekend.
I got here thanks to paian, and it was so worth the last few hours of reading. This is an excellent story. It pulled me right in. Very painful topic, very... delicately handled. And there are such delicious IC moments for all of them! And yay! for action, and all the facts of canon so wonderfully "hooked" in the story :)=
On the deeper-thoughts side: I do get a little notion of Sam being a little... hm... underappreciated? From this and the short story that comes right after... Maybe just not the "mainstream" interpretation of Sam. I can't really place it - perhaps you have a post somewhere around here, or would be inclined to share your view on Sam, to make me better understand your take on her?
Anyway, excellent fic. I rarely ever read gen these days, being a hopeless slasher, but now I'm beginning to think I'm missing out on something very good...
Damn, I sound so pathetic. Sorry, it's late night, and bottom line is: this story rocks. Keep more coming :)=
Reply
I think... and hope... that in the final chapters (which I just completed in first draft today), it'll become clear that alt-Sam has come into her own, and that Daniel was being an ass to her in the earlier chapters. Hopefully, this will put it into better perspective.
As for the other short story you brought up - Find Your Way, right? I'm not sure what you're seeing there that strikes you as "underappreciative", so I'm not sure what I should try to explain. Hmm. I felt she got very slighted in Full Circle, and I tried to address that by showing how underappreciated she was *in the episode*.
Interesting that both stories deal, tangentially or directly, with scenes in which Daniel is dismissive of Sam, IMO. I think that says more about Daniel than Sam, but maybe it comes off as authorial voice, especially without those final chapters on the Moebius tag...?
Reply
I think that's it. I think that's how I read it -- it was from Jack's POV, and to me it came out as the correct way to see things (correct because it comes from the narrator, and I didn't perceive the narrator as biased). That's where I got the impression of Sam being judged unfairly by, well, the author. I know that's a leap I shouldn't take, as a reader who reads consciously, but I couldn't help but to have that impression.
In the light of this -- and what you said about Daniel being an ass to Sam in this story, because oh, he was -- I'll eagerly wait how you play this out in the next chapters. Because I *got* it that (in the short story) it meant she was underappreciated in the episode. She is generally repressed by the writers in the series, I think (what with the lines they sometimes give her *facepalm*), and it's very engaging to see when someone treats her like a normal person for a change.
In short, I agree with you about Sam, and I can't wait to see where you take this view. I'll re-read the short to see if I haven't changed my opinion in the meantime, and I'm waiting for the last chapters of this one.
And again, because I just have to say it: the characterization is excellent. Daniel is just angry enough, he is just enough "our" Daniel. The rest of SG-1 is so slightly themselves and not themselves, it's wonderful to watch. You've actually made me like them, which makes the whole Moebius thing a little less heartbreaking. I can't wait to see where you take this next :)=
Reply
Well, please do let me know how it strikes you if you do re-read. I love feedback, love learning how to improve my communication of ideas. In this fandom, I believe there's a limit to an author's ability to make it clear that this is how she sees (for example) Jack seeing Sam, rather than that this is how the author sees Sam. Especially in one short story, written from just one POV. But I know I don't successfully convey things the way I mean to every time. ;)
And again, because I just have to say it: the characterization is excellent. Daniel is just angry enough, he is just enough "our" Daniel. The rest of SG-1 is so slightly themselves and not themselves, it's wonderful to watch. You've actually made me like them, which makes the whole Moebius thing a little less heartbreaking. I can't wait to see where you take this next :)=
Oh, good, good, good! Yay! I hope it lives up to expectations. I'm going get it to my betas over the weekend.
Reply
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