Motivation (PG)

[sg_fignewton]

A birthday present for lokei, who asked for Daniel, Giza and is probably getting more angst than she expected. :)

Summary: Daniel's intense hatred for the Goa'uld runs deeper than others might expect. A character study set in late S3, with various spoilers for previous events. 1,472 words. Rated PG.

Thank you, Random, for helping me get this right.

Comments

[sg_fignewton]

Wow. What a compliment, thank you! :)

Like you, I really dislike Daniel's later character arc. But this is the reason why I can accept it as real.

(we will not speak of Unending. I have no idea what you're talking about, la la la la...)

[sg_fignewton]

Thank you so much. :)

[campylobacter]

Would you be surprised to learn how controversial the Daniel-rants-at-Vala scene is in the Daniel/Vala fandom?

There are multiple, line-by-line exegesis fics of That Scene, as well as AU revisions of it, in addition to missing scene fics dealing with Vala having her say.

Not to mention hundreds of post-Unending romances that echo the dialog and reframe how they eventually hook up in the "normal" timeline. It's hard to find a D/V story that *doesn't* reference That Scene.

[campylobacter]

er... what did LJ just do?

[campylobacter]

I wrote a 10-chapter smutfic story where Vala throws a punch at Daniel for being a smug bastard. There are a few stories in the D/V fandom where she kicks his ass as foreplay.

[I deleted a duplicate post in case anyone's wondering.]

[sg_fignewton]

Heh. This is what I wrote re Unending, among other ranty things, back when it aired:
No. No. The Daniel I know would never, ever spew with such venom at a person he even pretended to care about. And while I am the very first to say that he has never been even remotely Saint Daniel, such cruelty and self-centeredness is utterly beyond his nature. The only way I could even remotely accept his reaction is if he genuinely doesn’t care about her; he’s reacting to be treated as a toy and as a diversion, whereas he believes in love and commitment - all those years of looking after Sha’re, and finally beginning to get over her, as he says here. Daniel has been used by women looking for a diversion before. If he’s reacting to Vala on the level of Hathor and Shyla, then, well... But we’re expected to accept that Daniel would reel off a rant of utter vitriol, and then turn around and confess to loving her? Are we supposed to believe that Daniel’s rant is actually a mask for his fear that Vala sees him as a plaything, but her tears convince him

[campylobacter]

Yes, that's definitely a Phase 1 Reaction to That Scene.

Because this isn't a post about Daniel/Vala, I won't go into details here about Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4, which is what D/V 'shippers go through to understand their 50-year AU relationship.

[sg_fignewton]

I can absolutely understand shippers going through the various phases. Sam/Jack fans are absolute masters of the art. I believe Jack/Daniel fans are too. ;)

I remember when Unending aired - the sheer uproar to that scene. Pretty awful to consider that the original rant was worse and that MS and CB insisted on toning it down!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled fic. :)

[sg_fignewton]

No, not surprised at all. I'd be surprised if there weren't, I think. :) Think of how many ep tags/fixes there are for Jack and Daniel for Shades of Grey, for example - and that's without even touching slash territory!

In a way, controversial scenes like this one are a good thing for the fandom, because they inspire the skills and talents of wonderful fans who go about fixing the writers' mistakes. OTOH, Unending seems to be one of those eps that's all about extremes - either you love it, or you hate it, but it's impossible to be meh about it.

Edit: (because I can, WHEE!) LJ can be a little cranky sometimes, so don't worry about your accidental post. I am talented enough to manage posting multiple times or in the wrong place even without LJ's "help." :)