My issues with het...

[jane_elliot]

There are a lot of folks out there who refuse to read het.  I am not one of them.  However, based on the last few het stories I've read (or tried to read) over the last day or to, I'm starting to see why 'het' is gradually becoming a dirty word.

Some of my main recurring issues with het fic:
-Inevitably, no matter how non-maternal or actively anti-

Comments

[abyssinia4077]

I have no idea which fandoms you read in, but in the fannish circles I travel in, what you're describing makes up a minority of the het (and most of the die-hard het people I know bemoan the type of fic you're describing as terrible). I actually encounter more slash fic with stalking, manipulation, rape fantasies, and one character dominating and controlling the other and taking charge of things because of the relationship.

Not saying there isn't het out there which does this, just be re-assured that it's far from all of it.

[jane_elliot]

Ooo, do you have any suggestions for good het fandoms/fics to read? I'd very much like to read some het fic that doesn't make me want to kick something (especially after the last few fics:)

[abyssinia4077]

I can try to put some recommendations together, sure (for fic - I have no idea which fandoms might be better or worse in this regard since every fandom I've ever encountered has been slash-dominated). (I mostly read SG-1 fic but I've hit stuff in a few other fandoms too. My fic reading preferences are probably gen > OT3+ > het > slash > badly written crap, but I read it all). Since I don't really know you or your tastes, can you give me a few guidelines for what you're looking for? What's an absolute no?

[jane_elliot]

Ooo, do you have Jack/Sam fic? Or anyone/Sam fic? Because I'd be all over that.

General likes:
-Loooooong, comple stories.
-Happy endings
-Fics where relationships are a significant focus (though they don't have to be the *only* focus)

General dislikes:
-Short fics and/or WIPs
-Unhappy endings
-Major character death (for SG-1, this would include, well, SG-1:)
-Non-con/rape
-Incest
-Chan
-BDSM (unless it's reaaaaally well done. And generally if I go this route, I prefer fics where the sex does not go smoothly)

Thank you!

[abyssinia4077]

Jack/Sam isn't my cup of tea, for the most part, but I have a number of friends who are really into it and a handful of fics I really like.

As authors you can probably trust to handle it well, you can check out annerbhp ( fic master list) [she is fond of apocafic and angst, but writes a variety], gabolange (fic master list)) [she hasn't written a lot, but all her writing is stunning], nandamai (fic website) [pretty much universally agreed as being awesome], pepper_field ( master fic list) [also has some really good Jack/Sara, though canon keeps that from being a happy ending], splash_the_cat (website of both fic and recs) [both her fic and her recs are great], surreallis (surreallis_fic) [is now mostly writing L&O: SVU but wrote some great SG-1 a few years ago], and, well, that should get you started. The trick I've found for finding good Sam/Jack is finding authors who really love Sam and write from that angle, rather than authors who write it from the "I want to fantasize about having sex with Jack" angle which is where you often run into the things your post mentioned as being problematic

[jane_elliot]

Yay! Thank you:)

[abyssinia4077]

You are very welcome! I hope some of it works for you.

It was funny looking through my links/recs because most of them were either gen or OT3 (I love to explore the dynamics and relationship of the entire team and OT3 or OT4 does better at not leaving anyone out than pairings do) and most of the longer fic I read falls into one of those categories. Long, plotty pairing fic seems less common.

[sothcweden]

Thanks for putting up all of the recs. I started out reading in SG-1 when I was just luking, and though I'm reading/talking more in SPN these days, I still love to find good SG-1 stories. My favorite SG-1 het pairing is Sam/Daniel, and I'm thrilled to hear about good stories I haven't yet read. I agree about OT3 and OT4 being the best at not leaving someone out - I have a particular discomfort with J/D stories that leave Sam unhappy and alone, so I'm a big fan of "everyone in, the water's fine!"

[abyssinia4077]

I think Stargate fandom is one of the best fandoms out there for OT3 and OT4. I've got a ton recced on the "recs" tag on my lj and there's a whole LJ community and other rec sites for it. There's just something about that team and how they've bonded and how they're too broken for anyone else.

Happy reading!
(yes! "everyone in, the water's fine!" is a great way of putting it)

[mswyrr]

Sam/Daniel! ((squees)) As a teenager I LURVED the possibility of their geek non-traditional gender expression love! ((snatches recs and carries them away to her cave))

[abyssinia4077]

Hee :) Sam and Daniel are, quite literally, the first (and still only) pair of fictional characters I ever found myself thinking, while watching, "they really ought to get together"

There's probably more Sam/Daniel fics on the "rec"s tag on my LJ and it's worth checking the sd_ficathon and the fic lists of any of the participating authors for more. It's a small ship, but a devoted one. And most of the fic I've found has been good and respectful to the character.

Just to add to what abyssinia already recced

[rydra_wong]

For Sam/Jack, try 's trilogy:

Resolution
Salvage
The Furies Wept

(variously NC-17 and PG-13)

I think this should meet all your requirements.

It handles the inherent issues and inequalities -- Air Force regs, the fact that he's her commanding officer, etc. -- realistically, and produces a credible picture of two people struggling towards an equal relationship under difficult circumstances, and making it. And the third in the series is an excellent plotty action-adventure (which is simultaneously all about the relationship).

I originally came from the slash side of the force, and I admit that S/J is a pairing I'm wary of because IMHO it's sometimes done awfully, but this really worked for me.

Re: Just to add to what abyssinia already recced

[jane_elliot]

Yay! Thank you!

Re: Just to add to what abyssinia already recced

[rydra_wong]

Whoops, that should be nandamai's trilogy. Apparently my html is broken today.

Re: Just to add to what abyssinia already recced

[cofax7]

driveby--

Nanda is the writer who originally convinced me that Jack/Sam could be written without making me want to claw out my eyes.