I still have to write out my thoughts in my own LJ, but I wanted to touch on something here because you brought it up. And that's the differences between Sam and Vala, or, in this case, the difference in their relationships with Daniel. Which I felt was really evident here and well-played too!
With Vala sitting on Daniel's lap it was more of a 'well, it's Daniel and I always try to annoy Daniel as much as possible' sort of thing. (Although absolutely not done maliciously, of course.) But there was still this distance there, maybe because of the tension and UST between them or maybe just because they haven't known each other that long. (They did seem to connect on a level that he didn't connect with the rest of SG-1 on.)
Whereas with Sam it was a much more intimate thing. She knew perfectly well she was welcome to touch him in almost any manner she wished and he'd be fine with that. And in fact she could offer comforting touches and he'd not pull away. (She actually touches him a lot while he really doesn't touch anyone. Ever notice that? He will totally invade her personal space until she can practically feel the fly of his pants, but he doesn't really touch her or anyone else.) Sometimes I think she could walk up to him and stick her hand down his pants and he'd just stand there with that furrowed brow and do nothing except frown and say, "Ummmm... Sam?" But he'd be perfectly willing (and not even in a romantic way) to let her root around down there with no explanation. (This thought amused me at work last night because I could see his expression in my mind perfectly.)
Hee! Thanks for the visual of Sam 'rooting around' in Daniel's pants! But you're so right - he'd let her do it with only the mildest of confused expressions on his face. He'd just figure she had her reasons and it'd be good enough for him ;) What a fabulous way to get through your work!
I think you're really on the nose with the differences in Vala's and Sam's relationship to Daniel. The whole lap-sitting thing was surprisingly... cool. Not as in neat, but the emotional tenor was cool. She sat there, but not particularly close to him. Vala wasn't cuddling up to him - there was quite a bit of clear space between their bodies. And Vala's not just like that with Daniel anymore. She does it to all of them. Vala's a very touchy person - leaning on Sam's shoulder when she was sleepy. Jumping on Teal'c, to his apparent pleasure. She's less touchy with Mitchell, but I think that might be because she's not entirely sure he wouldn't smack her. She annoyed Daniel, but she never thought he'd smack her. Well, he smacked her around plenty on the Prometheus, but only after she smacked him quite a bit.
I think that's why I like Sam and Daniel scenes so much. There's just so much there, so much conveyed with only a touch or an expression. And it doesn't *have* to be romantic, it can be taken as purely deep friendship. Theirs is an intimate friendship that sort of goes beyond what the nature of that relationship might be. Which makes it all that more mystifying to me why a possible Sam/Daniel pairing has never been encountered in an AU. It seems like in most AUs, Daniel doesn't even join the program, which is why I probably find the tigerstripe Major Daniel Jackson so interesting to explore (Going waaaay back there on the meta).
What's interesting is that while Sam touches Daniel pretty spontaneously and easily, she also isn't like that with anyone else. I think it's a holdover from their really early years together and I was really happy to see it here. It felt really natural for Sam to do that.
With Vala sitting on Daniel's lap it was more of a 'well, it's Daniel and I always try to annoy Daniel as much as possible' sort of thing. (Although absolutely not done maliciously, of course.) But there was still this distance there, maybe because of the tension and UST between them or maybe just because they haven't known each other that long. (They did seem to connect on a level that he didn't connect with the rest of SG-1 on.)
Whereas with Sam it was a much more intimate thing. She knew perfectly well she was welcome to touch him in almost any manner she wished and he'd be fine with that. And in fact she could offer comforting touches and he'd not pull away. (She actually touches him a lot while he really doesn't touch anyone. Ever notice that? He will totally invade her personal space until she can practically feel the fly of his pants, but he doesn't really touch her or anyone else.) Sometimes I think she could walk up to him and stick her hand down his pants and he'd just stand there with that furrowed brow and do nothing except frown and say, "Ummmm... Sam?" But he'd be perfectly willing (and not even in a romantic way) to let her root around down there with no explanation. (This thought amused me at work last night because I could see his expression in my mind perfectly.)
And really, all that is as it should be, so...
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I think you're really on the nose with the differences in Vala's and Sam's relationship to Daniel. The whole lap-sitting thing was surprisingly... cool. Not as in neat, but the emotional tenor was cool. She sat there, but not particularly close to him. Vala wasn't cuddling up to him - there was quite a bit of clear space between their bodies. And Vala's not just like that with Daniel anymore. She does it to all of them. Vala's a very touchy person - leaning on Sam's shoulder when she was sleepy. Jumping on Teal'c, to his apparent pleasure. She's less touchy with Mitchell, but I think that might be because she's not entirely sure he wouldn't smack her. She annoyed Daniel, but she never thought he'd smack her. Well, he smacked her around plenty on the Prometheus, but only after she smacked him quite a bit.
I think that's why I like Sam and Daniel scenes so much. There's just so much there, so much conveyed with only a touch or an expression. And it doesn't *have* to be romantic, it can be taken as purely deep friendship. Theirs is an intimate friendship that sort of goes beyond what the nature of that relationship might be. Which makes it all that more mystifying to me why a possible Sam/Daniel pairing has never been encountered in an AU. It seems like in most AUs, Daniel doesn't even join the program, which is why I probably find the tigerstripe Major Daniel Jackson so interesting to explore (Going waaaay back there on the meta).
What's interesting is that while Sam touches Daniel pretty spontaneously and easily, she also isn't like that with anyone else. I think it's a holdover from their really early years together and I was really happy to see it here. It felt really natural for Sam to do that.
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