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]

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.

As specific fics, I personally recommend:
* Turn and Face the Strain by syxp which is Sam/Jack pregnancy fic done *right* (really, I swear). It is apocafic in the epilogue, but no specific character deaths are mentioned (and SG-1 is mentioned as surviving).

* zorb writes great Sam/Daniel (my big weakness pairing). I recommend Clinging as Condition (Bhava Rising) (robot Sam/Daniel from "Tin Man"), as well as Taste and the sequel, of reality (Sam/Daniel season 8 - does refer to some canon character deaths)

* All We Need of Hell was written by surreallis for a dark fic-athon. The story *is* very dark and there is a power dynamic between Sam/Jack but it's incredibly well done in a very believable way (one of the only fics that actually makes me believe the Sam/Jack) and there is a glimmer of hope at the end. It may or may not be to your taste and the warnings should be heeded, but from what I remember the only, um, permanent character death is the fact that it's set in S6 when Daniel is canonically dead.

* Echoes by holdouttrout is a great Sam/Jack set in the AU from Continuum which probably wouldn't work if you didn't see the movie, but is very good if you have.

* Statistical Improbabilities by beanpot is Sam/Rodney McKay with spot-on characterization and dialogue.

* F*ck by thraesja is very good Sam/Daniel pregnancy fic.

* Ocean's Pull by havocthecat completely sold me on Jack O'Neill/Elizabeth Weir.

* Some specifically Sam/Daniel recs: The Rites of Hedona is a (I think) very in character aliens-made-them-do-it. Unreasonable by raqs is possibly my favorite Sam/Daniel fic ever in that it deals with Sam realizing she doesn't have the "man to fix her plumbing and take care of her" the way society says she should and coming to terms with the fact that that's just fine.

Hopefully among all this something will be to your taste. I can at the least pretty much guarantee this list is largely free of the complaints in your initial rant.

[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.