Canon vs. Fanon, part 9: "It's just a deep, bleeding gash..."

[sg_fignewton]

I'd originally planned to do Daniel's pre-series history next, but this particular topic has come up over and over again in the comments sections of previous posts, so we're going to tackle this one first.

"It's just a deep, bleeding gash, but it'll be fine."

A common aspect of fanfic - particularly Daniel-whumping ones! - is Daniel's supposed

Comments

[shutthef_up]

While I don't think it's *quite* canon, what I've heard/seen (and please don't ask me where - might have been Arduinna's fact site) is a sort of melding of movie and television canon.

In the movie IIRC, Catherine points out that Daniel's parents died in a plane crash rather later in life than the accident that killed TV Daniel's parents.

The melding says that it was Daniel's foster parents that were killed in a plane crash later. So the poor guy lost *two* sets of parents to tragic accidents, but it also tends to nullify the idea that Daniel was this poor waif that was abused/neglected/passed around foster homes.

Yes, I find the whole childhood abuse/trauma assumption very annoying. I don't understand why people want to assume that. I know initially it had to do with Daniel's tendency to cross his arms (cold arms), but I think that's reading a bit too much into a bit of body language.

[moonshayde]

I've never heard this interpretation. I just usually take show canon over movie canon. But did she really point out that his parents died in a plane crash? Now I can't remember! I know the movie novelization talks about his parents dying in a plane crash

[aurora_novarum]

(Though, the pic she shows him has a very young young boy in it, way younger than the age Daniel would have been when his parents died in show canon.)

I've seen the wank reconcile that by saying that the baby was a foster-brother/sister, not necessarily Daniel himself. It's never explicitly stated that the baby the couple is holding *is* Daniel.

I hadn't ever heard of a plane crash before either. I've never read the novel.

The standard canon accepted by fanon is tv-series, movie [if not contradicted by show], and for some people the novelization, right? That's why some people have this idea of where Daniel's supposed to have been educated?

As for where Daniel has had 52 foster families and been mentally/emotionally/physically/sexually abused as a child...I have NO idea where that comes from.

[moonshayde]

As for where Daniel has had 52 foster families and been mentally/emotionally/physically/sexually abused as a child...I have NO idea where that comes from.

It's for huggles and cuddles! That's my reasoning. There has to be (a) some reason to whump Daniel and make him vunerable so that (b) Jack can hug him and kiss it better.

Plane crash is from an earlier draft of the movie. It didn't make the cut. It's why Daniel has a fear of flying/travel which developed into hodophobia. It's why he sneezes all the time.

Again, the explanation is not movie canon. Just that he gets allergies when he travels.

Also, the book does state where he received some of his education. I think. Or maybe it just said where he used to teach. But what you see in fanon? It doesn't even really add up in light of the book, either. I have the book in my room. I can always look it up.

And the wank you've noted, while not canon, is the one that I work with. That the kid in the pic is not Daniel.

[sg_fignewton]

It's why Daniel has a fear of flying/travel which developed into hodophobia. It's why he sneezes all the time.

I read the novel just last week and didn't pick up on that nuance. Then again, I was on my way to a dentist appointment at the time. :)

There's a lot of characterization in the novel that I really disliked. Daniel, in particular, is much less likeable - not because of his arrogance (he still has that in spades in both the movie and the show!) but other characterizations.

[moonshayde]

I rather liked many of the things in the novel, though I think the movie version is a way better draft. My favorite part of the novel is how strong Sha'uri (sp?) is. Her characterization in the book is so great and builds on what was present in the movie. Sha're on the show just didn't cut it for me. I ended up using the book as a basis to write a missing scene for Sha're for COTG because I couldn't take it anymore

[sg_fignewton]

Oh, I picked up on the travel allergies - hodophobia. Isn't it nice to learn a new word? :) What I didn't pick up on was the suggestion that his hodophobia is a result of how his parents died. Is that your interpretation, then?

I didn't like Daniel's attitude towards people in the book. And Kowalsky's resentment and attitudes towards Jack are so twisted from what we know of him that it almost hurts. Never mind the idea that a lieutenant was apparently in charge of the Stargate program before they recruited Jack...

I'll touch on the book in the next canon vs. fanon post, don't worry! :)

[moonshayde]

Ah, gotcha. Misread you. And yes, that is just me. So if I made it sound like it was fact, then nope. That is my interpretation. Book!Daniel's parents died in a plane crash. Daniel refused to use the plane tickets that Catherine gave him to get to base. Daniel drove instead and sneezed the whole way. Daniel sneezes when he travels

[sg_fignewton]

Daniel seems to be a feet on the ground type of person.

Hee! Love that. Although I'd say feet in the sand, myself. :)

Although I must say, Teal'c was a lot more apphrensive there about jumping out of that plane than Daniel was!

[moonshayde]

And yes I am spamming your LJ. This is what happens when I have the day off, can talk Stargate, write and play.

That is one of my fave fave Teal'c moments. Teal'c has no issue with ships and flying, but jumping out of a plane? Goodness. I'm with Teal'c on this one. I imagine he believes the Tau'ri are very reckless.

[sg_fignewton]

the baby was a foster-brother/sister, not necessarily Daniel himself

Heh. I love the fandom's ability to handwave. :)

[green_grrl]

As for where Daniel has had 52 foster families and been mentally/emotionally/physically/sexually abused as a child...I have NO idea where that comes from.

I can sort of see where it comes from... the people in Catherine's picture were specifically called foster parents, not adoptive parents, and fostering is usually a shorter term arrangement. So if he wasn't adopted, then he very well could have been through multiple homes in the system. And the system isn't perfect -- there are foster parents who abuse or neglect kids. And, Daniel: saw his parents get killed traumatically, has a genius IQ, and may not have been acculturated to the United States. So he could have been a difficult placement. It's not like it's an impossible conclusion to come to. (Though he'd have to be pretty tough-skinned to still be as well-adjusted as he is. And he is pretty tough-skinned...)

However, it is equally possible that after his parents died and Nick didn't take him, he was taken in by close friends of his parents who'd known him since he was born (and

[sg_fignewton]

Yes, all those possibilities are valid, although some are more likely than others. So why, as you put it, is it "the rotating-door foster home scenario that's in nearly all the fic"?

I enjoy good-quality whumping as much as the next fangirl, but I really dislike whumping for whumping's sake. And abusive-foster-home!Daniel is just another attempt to make him cuddable, if such a word exists. And I like my Daniel too strong and prickly for cuddling, thanks. :)

[abyssinia4077]

As for the childhood abuse, it just irks me. While the foster care system is not pleasant, there is no evidence that Daniel was abused in canon. And while there is no evidence that he hasn't been abused, imo, it doesn't suit his character.

No kidding! These drive me nuts! I'm not a psychology or abuse expert or anything, but Daniel is really pretty self-reliant and generally together. He tends to believe in the good of people, to trust people and he understands the importance of family. There is nothing there that whings me as having been treated badly. And, really, he was probably one of the foster kids every foster parent wants - I don't see him being lots of trouble. I hate hate hate stories that talk about how nobody every loved poor liddle Daniel and he bounced from abusive foster situation to the next.

Daniel's had tragedy but isn't what did happen enough? Why make more?

[sg_fignewton]

Gorgeous icon!

And, really, he was probably one of the foster kids every foster parent wants - I don't see him being lots of trouble.

Now you're wandering into fanon territory. :) A kid witnessing his parents' death like that could go in any direction - quiet and desperately obedient, furiously striking out at a world that seems terribly unfair, so traumatized he barely eats or sleeps... Bedwetting, even.

No, I'm not specifically suggesting any of the above scenarios. Quite frankly, I've read very little fic that deals with traumatic abused orphaned Daniel, because I tend to back away from such fics ASAP. I'm sure they exist, though. Technically, we can't know what kind of child Daniel was after his parents' death, so we can't know how difficult it was to foster him. But the abuse thing? It's just too far-fetched to contemplate.

[shutthef_up]

Personally, what I've worked out in my head (which makes it really no more valid that what other people feel about it), is that teenaged Daniel was pretty well-focussed and self-sufficent, whether he had foster parents or not. That's about as far as I take it. Call it personal fanon, I guess.

Personally, while I know others like thinking about it, I don't dwell too much on what Daniel's childhood years were like. Psychoanalyzing any fictional character that deeply doesn't really appeal to me, because it's just all speculation. But I don't buy into the abuse scenario.