Jack/Daniel forever!
As promised: Civilian and Military, or Why I Ship Jack and Daniel (plus why I don't want to watch SG1 seasons 8-10, why the Space Monkey scene is the shippiest thing in the history of anything, and why exactly Menace is so deeply awful) Now with extra random tangential babbles!
( Beware the tl;dr. No really. You have been warned. )
( Beware the tl;dr. No really. You have been warned. )
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And that leads to interesting dynamics all the way around.
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And RE Menace, yeah. I was pretty much in Jack's head when I wrote that. Of course, it's utterly awful in a different way inside Daniel's head, in ways that all have to do with the setup for Meridian. But-
Daniel, despite Jack seeing him as the Civilian of the Age (remember Jack's characterization of Daniel in Abyss? Woo hoo),
Oh God, YES. I really kind of love (in a lot of different pairings) those moments when two people can look at each other and not really see, see each other incorrectly or all twisted through those personal filters. It can be so heartbreaking. Abyss and Menace are great examples of that from opposite sides- Daniel in Menace and Jack in Abyss are both so wrapped up in their own horrible stresses that their perceptions of the other get all twisted up to give them a focus for that emotion and it's heartbreaking.
Hmm, know what I really love, though? Jack in Menace is so strong. He's strong enough to just stand there and take it ( ... )
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I must remember all this when I get round to re-writing my big meta-from-hell ascension piece.
p.s. The reason I so love The Quest / The Shroud from Season Ten is that when Merlin gets inside Daniel's head he sort of resets and becomes the civilian again. He actually gets the gifts ascension gave him back and he gets to play with them. He gets to lecture and argue with Jack (who has to make Military decisions and you can see him fighting them no matter how much he his camping things up) AND he gets to flail when presented with a woman who has designs on him which is the best bit of all.
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YAAY! That's all I need to be happy. I'm perpetually miffed at how little actual archeology Daniel is allowed to do, either in canon or in fanfic. And anything that results in Daniel being tortured is okay in my book (Oh God, I am a horrible person)
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As to whether Daniel actually believed that the thing with Reese could go down his way... man, what tangled lines between what we believe and what we want to believe and what we tell ourselves we believe! A good writer could convince me either way.
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Jack totally does it for me in the movie, right from the start. He's been wandering around the SGC giving Daniel the stink-eye, or being bemused by him, but the second Daniel comes through the wormhole on the mission, he's there telling him it'll be okay and making sure Daniel's being watched out for. *flaily hands* Then protecting Daniel from the team, protecting Daniel from Ra's troops, being gutted that Daniel would die for him, and protecting Daniel with his body in the sandstorm ... ♥ ♥ ♥ They hit that kink right from the get-go ( ... )
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And yes. Of course Jack allowed Daniel to grow and change, and of course he understands that Daniel is capable of taking care of himself later on. Of course. I just... I don't ever quite believe that Daniel ever stops being a civilian to Jack(remembering that my "ever" is only good through Season 7), and I think if he *does*, that Jack regrets that. Because to the extent that Daniel grows, it's in ways that make him more competent in danger, more capable of keeping himself safe, and that's vital and important in Jack's book... but would any sharp shooting ever flip that switch in Jack's head that says "Daniel is your responsibility to protect and care for?"
Maybe when he's not under Jack's direct command in the field anymore? I don't know.
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I don't think Jack ever stopped feeling responsibility for any of his "kids"--that's just the way he is.
So, yeah, he grabbed Daniel away from the Ancient brain downloader in Lost City in s7. In s8, he couldn't give the order to fire on the ship that Daniel and Sam were on. In s9 he came to check up on Daniel after his Ori Galaxy experience. In s10 he couldn't allow the IOA to order Prior!Daniel killed. Whether it's "protect the civilian" or "protect my best friend/beloved" or "I've lost enough people in my life" or all of them rolled into one, Jack can't bear to lose Daniel.
I think he can respect and be grateful for the skills that help keep Daniel alive, while still making Daniel's safety his priority. It's a mental battle every time Jack has to put mission objectives first, and he doesn't always win it. I totally agree with the fanon that that's why he moved to DC--he was too close to SG-1 to watch them from up close as they went through the gate into danger.
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When you say "someone made the comment" I always thought that was YOU. Because you are completely right- Jack and Daniel's bond is close and intense but also so very particular to their lives and circumstances, whereas John and Rodney have this total "suburban geek buddies" vibe, such that I can believe in any version of them, any time, anywhere, and the minute they meet they just stick together like velcro.
(Sam/Dean versus Jared/Jensen is the same thing, to me. I have no interest in Sam/Dean AUs, but Jared and Jensen can be ANYBODY)
As for that accounting for some tone differences between the shows... *thinky noises* I'm inclined to attribute tone solely to the the writing... dunno
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