Archive post: Seasons 2-4 and 5 Recs List

[minxy]

partially updated 6/19/09

A clear mid-point in Stargate SG-1 is both relevant to story as well as being the actual mid-point, but any stories specific to season 5 will be at the end and with minimal spoilers in the rec itself. [disclaimer: as always with the recs list, I'll provide you with all the information I can so you get what you're craving, but the kitchen can't do anything if your food is too spicy, please don't send it back.]

For ainsley, conn8d and astrogirl2,

Compiled from previous recs, Stargate SG-1 stories, seasons 1-4:

The specifically Season 1 fic recs post.

Gen:

Fairly brilliant Jack and Daniel friendship tag for Season 2's Spirits (the one with the Native American Aliens) Because" SG-1, PG, gen from lokei.

katie_m's remix_redux fic from a few years ago has some fabulous poetry, fantastic strong Sam, and a wonderful outside POV of our strong Sam. It's a brilliant story, very well told. The Sangata, Book 1 (The Ramayana Remix); (Stargate: SG1, Sam Carter, worksafe)

dsudis: Stargate SG-1 drabble thing. A S2ish Jack and Daniel friendship story.

This Mountain in the Wind by splash_the_cat in choc_fic is Jack/Teal'c, PG and wonderful.

abyssinia4077: Undertow (Fabulous Sam, fabulous team, H/C, S2)

ivorygates penned this amazing, short, kick-to-the-teeth Jack character piece: Imaginary Presidents. Jack, complex and not easy and dark, but worksafe, gen and SG-1.

Holiday wackiness! From teand, a Sam story that rather hilariously blends Dickensian Christmas elements with Abba refrences and flying toilets. Good times, good times. A Christmas Carter, gen, team, Sam, worksafe.

and aurora_novarum, with Sam and Jack friendship very nicely done. Holding the Bags, holiday shopping, and Sam and Jack and SG-1 and worksafe.

Okay, back to non-denominational gen: Assimilation from moonshayde. Season 1 SG-1, on a team night out and it's just funny and sweet and quirky and good.

paian's Five Ways Teal'c Could Have Grown Up On Earth, is extraordinary. Her descriptions of him are incredible, especially in different venues or arenas or roles--the ways in which he is less alien for having grown up here are marvelous, and the ways in which he is still recognizably Teal'c are incredible. AU and not season specific, though some non-spoilery references will resonate with particular storylines.

sg_fignewton wrote this hilarious team story for splash_the_cat: Ninja Style, which Julie subtitled 'Teal'c pwns SG-1', so you know it's fun. Gen, team, G rated, worksafe.

In marvelous and believable Teal'c backstory, for the tealc_ficathon, beatrix_otter wrote Pale Battalions. Then, in one of those fannish events which double and triple the love, cofax7 remixed the story into None But Ourselves (the Redemption Song remix). These stories together are just extraordinary for their exploration of the destructive tragedy of Teal'c's past, and each stands on it's own as well.

troyswann, AKA Salieri, has also been writing variations on an inspirational poem (and it really is a doozy, listed at the beginning of the story), and this one, set in SG-1's Tin Man episode, is aching and gorgeous. Five Variations on an Inspiration #2: tin!Jack, team, AU, gen.

Jack and Teal'c, Golden, by dknightshade. Jack and Teal'c, and needs met, and friendship, and truce with an enemy that will not last, but is here for the moment. Spoilers for 2010 (season 3).

Gorgeous novel-length, excellently team story: Ghosts In The Machine, by surreallis. Not to be missed.

And incredible Sam and Daniel from Salieri: Surface Tension, How they survive and how they save each other.

Five Ways Walter Saved the Galaxy (and No One Noticed) by synecdochic. 'Nuff said, except watch out for spoilers in the other Five Things in the same post.

Janet's first impressions of SG-1, when their introduction was neither the only thing on Janet's to do list for the day, nor the wierdest, nor possibly even the most important, but it made an impression. Oh my, yes. Assess This, by betacandy_sgfic.

Also Janet: backstory, and healer and soldier and every contradiction that implies, heartbreakingly realized. Every Art and Artifice, by the Stylus.

Sam and Daniel, really early seasons. Protective Resemblance by agentotter for Salieri, I believe.

A Daniel contrasted with Sam and Jack piece that is just so *Daniel* in his tenacious striving to understand, in the brilliant leaps and insights he has and keeps to himself, in his realizations that he is different, and his embracing his own strengths. Things Not Dreamed. Lovely, worksafe, by stargazercmc.

Teal'c, in a post-Threshold tag from splash_the_cat: And I Am Looking Up at the Stars is post-betrayal and a thing of quiet team love. Beautiful, gen, team. I love when they entertain each other; it's particularly moving when they're really trying to.

Also from Splash is the Sam fic You Peacemakers Go to the Same Place as Soldiers. It's S3 (post-Seth) as Sam struggles, and it's amazing the wisdom and character the other three bring to bear on her experience. Jack is sardonic and sympathetic, Daniel is what she can never be again, and forgiving, and Teal'c is wisdom at it's most bittersweet and sincere.

isabeau's fantastic Daniel POV from Legacy. Really well done, and poor Daniel. First person, gen, nice friendship with Jack. Jericho.

kellifer_fic's Bait and Switch is very nice Sam and Daniel against the world, finding unlikely causes and unlikely allies. AU from the movie on--Kowalski commands the first team, but Jack has his connections, and he knows who his friends are. pre-slash, worksafe.

By Her Judgement by moonshayde, very tight writing, classic, wonderful gen yarn of a tale. Highly recommended plotty stuffs, with Sam in command and responsible, earlier seasons. Worksafe.

Fun little moment offworld: For agentotter, from cofax7: This Could Become a Habit, gen team-fic and road trip fic.

This is utterly hilarious: WWZD? by poohmusings. Gen, SG-1, rilly funny.

A Jaffa Revenge Thing from green_grrl, because you can't trap Teal'c in the middle of banter without his express permission. Or you can, but then you have to face the consequences. PG.

Slash:

Jack and Daniel from dragojustine (who is newer to SG-1 but writing some great Jack/Daniel stuff.) In a brilliant set of counterpoints within contrasts, the classic relationship between Jack and Daniel brought to bear in fantastic characterization on a new relationship. PG rated, maybe, definitely worksafe, but not light. Timing. Jack/Daniel and team. Worksafe. Early seasons.

Son of Endless Sky (the Bone Needle Remix), is a PG-13, outsider POV of Jack and Daniel, some question/suggestion of relationship, but worksafe. It's an extraordinary culture and world that's built up, not least for their intuitive and perceptive and complex reaction to our team. From rydra_wong.

Dark Jack/Daniel from thevetia, and fabulously, psychologically dark. What they need and what they can (and can't) give. In Common, SG-1, Jack/Daniel, NC-17, not worksafe.

To rebound, should you be wishing for a little old married couple whimsy: an off-world mission gone unfortunate, fashion-wise. theemdash's Foxtrot on P8X-682, Jack/Daniel with team, PG-13, SG-1

(another piece from theemdash is the holiday story Signs of Weakness, also Jack/Daniel.)

Um, probably all the slash will be Jack and Daniel unless otherwise stated, okay?

The Drunkenness of Some Other Tavern, by Jeylan. Jack and Daniel, with genderswitch and AMTDI or something, but despite these broad hammerlike warnings, a subtle emotional coming together and growing self-awareness on the part of *both* Jack and Daniel, in different ways and unique to their personalities. Surprising story, and there's nothing hugely sudden about it. SG-1, Jack/Daniel, NC-17, slash (and het.)

NSFW, and not particularly early seasons, but no spoilers for later seasons: This Time, from paian for the Jack/Daniel Kissathon.

Also paian, into the dubious consent grey area of AMTDI: consequences and complex psychology and darknesses. Mechanisms of Restraint, not worksafe. Jack/Daniel AMTDI.

Sweet routine and old married love: Third Watch, by Zillah. worksafe.

Hilarity from the always reliably wonderful Jack/Daniel Ficathon (run by the fabulous greensilver who is to be worshipped) v. 2007: I shall say only that it's Jack and Daniel in an Adventure with Pirates, and that it's written by raqs, the mighty. Avast, Boys. Argh.

A neat AU set in the 1950s in Memphis, when Daniel is a professor and consultant for the AF, and Jack is one of the Blue Angels. The music and the heat and the verandas and the intrigue are amazing aspects. Maybe It Was Memphis (Series Index) by princessofg.

Also princessofg, a dark 5-minute AU from season 1: Road to Nowhere is breaky nostalgia the way the team comes together as much as they can and fall so far short of what we saw them become.

For the International Bathrobe Day Challenge, playful early relationship from melayneseahawk, The Morning After, PG-13, worksafe.

paian wrote a gorgeous S4 Jack/Daniel for jenlev. It's romantic to the point of not needing any of the trappings, straight forward and sweet and still our two men, struggling to reconcile what they have and what they want and what they still need to do. Shedding Light, NC-17, lovely.

Silk by Mary Jane, light bondage for anonymity, and to great effect. Jack/Daniel, NC-17.

Extraordinary Jack/Daniel story: destina's Aftermath, written Christmas 2005, S3/4, new relationships, still surprising. I seriously love this one.

One that goes AU before the movie and is actually a future fic. Some spoilers, obliquely, for early season episodes, very interesting differences in the AU. Climbing, AU, NC-17. I loved how first appearances deceive in this fic. I also love that raqs has quietly indicated that her head holds more backstory for these two, and that one day she might tell it to us.

janedavitt brings fantasy into conflict with reality, only Jack's inability to be honest dividing the two: Choices. not so much worksafe. S4ish

Also with the classic Jack/Daniel (when Jack was a colonel, even) from mmmchelle, inspired by destina 'small dogs' rant, I think (small dogs being little things that, with repetition and/or association with badfic become intolerable): His. Not worksafe either.

katie_m's Jack/Daniel ficathon piece, for icarusancalion, S4, PG rated Jack/Daniel. The Best Policy, with pitch-perfect Jack and Daniel at loggerheads.

green_grrl's pre-slash or friendship War Is Hell. Everyone always assumed Jack would be a bear about getting injured, but this is Daniel dealing with him in a very matter of fact way post-The Devil You Know. Worksafe. Nice progression of attitudes with prolonged infirmary stay.

Season 4, post-The Curse. taselby's Canon for a Minor Key. NC-17, Jack/Daniel. For the 2006 Jack/Daniel Ficathon.

Also from the J/D ficathon: Days Like This, in which Daniel saves Jack's arse. PG/PG-13, by butterfly. (For reasons that don't need exploring at this juncture, Jack is stuck on a cliff.)

And dustandroses' All in the Making. J/D, pre-slash, shockingly PG-13, heh.

sidlj has an ongoing theme in which Jack and Daniel have varying degrees of a D/s relationship, and she reconciles switching them in this quantum mirror fic. When Worlds Collide, NC-17 or R. There's some nice psychological complexity tied up in their roles which is nicely played. No season in particular.

First time, standing apart. Walking the line of sex buddies and something more emotional, with an exit clause. Plus points for sneaky and effective use of tense changes: Something Guys Do from princessofg. Hard R. S4ish.

raqs brings a lovely moment in between the hurt and the comfort: Reverberations. Jack/Daniel, NC-17, no particular season.

blue_adagio wrote Collateral Damage, which is awesome betrayal. D/s, Absolute Power missing scenes. NC-17.

Light manipulation as foreplay--with an edge: janedavitt's Pushed Into It. S4, NC-17.

The psychologically complex, emotionally intimate and character driven I, In This Darkness, by destina for paian. Long piece that pulls no punches drawing the outlines of dangerous, capable, loving guys in an established relationship, helping each other through decisions that they might have made differently. It's not a pat resolution, which makes it all the more marvelous. Mid to late S4.

Ship:

abyssinia4077: Now the Sun has Come to Earth Sam/Teal'c apocafic. A beautiful way to go down swinging, and holding someone's hand. Sam's need and Teal'c's loyalty are amazing here, and heartrending. Worksafe.

rowan_d's sg1_by_hand fic, prompted by the episode 'The Light' for Sam is wonderfully angsty: Into The Light, NC-17, Sam, but with Sam/Jack UST explicit. Technically just Sam, but the UST takes it to het area for the purposes of this post. Yeah, I don't know.

agentotter's wonderful Natural Light. (PG, friendship,) is another tag for the Light. I adore the siblings-goofing-off banter like nobody's business. Plus, during a time when I'm less inclined to read, O has actually hooked me with her opening paragraph (which I glanced at while flipping through the links I have open) and next thing you know, I've read the whole thing.

Learning to Fall, by Julie Fortune. A gift with no caveats, friends with no barriers. Psychology of grief and inadequacy of coping, well rendered. Plus the idea of being two things: of Earth and Abydos, of science and military, well mirrored. NC-17. ETA: link updated, yay!

Then there's Jack, as an incredible judge of character, an incredibly stubborn man, and yet, one who impeccibly identifies and meets his teams' needs (and lets that trump all other considerations), with Sam. More with the UST, and therefore wroksafe. May, by surreallis.

Nearly Sam/Jack, in character, and I love Jack's reaction of being scared of Sam a little bit. Wow, PR-13 from holdouttrout.

Karen T (poohmusing)'s Fairytales is a lovely introduction to the ideas of possibilities being all well and good, and the loss of them painful, but in the end, it's the working side by side that they're living for. PG.

Conversing With Cliffs by randomleaves/JoJo. Really liked this a lot. For Sam having friends of the female, military, smart & funny variety, for someone else opening their eyes to the possibility of having it all, and for, in the end, being competent people saving each other's arses first, with the revelations to be considered at some future time. Wonderful.

Beyond the bounds of those classifications, and therefore some of my favorites:

Then, there's katie_m, with her awesome plotty stories and apocafic universes where characters and relationships change and change and stay the same. Katie wrote a sequel for In The Wrong Story (great fic, go read it) called Wandering Blind. These stories have characteristically fabulous Jack voice even as he tries, like, really hard, to stay out of Sam and Daniel's business. (Except he's already there, and they are totally incapable of dealing themselves--I mean, it's Sam and Daniel, but it's SAM AND DANIEL.) As poly situations go, this is possibly the most believable way these three would come to those kinds of desires and decisions. Poly, apocafic, NC-17, not worksafe, but wonderful, not least for the use of zombies to further the story. SG-1, Sam, Jack, Daniel in various combinations, spoilers through 100 Days, which I *think* is season 3.

It is difficult to do justice to *the* story that shows how Teal'c can command millions and then barely rank in a team of only four. paian's Speak the Living, is indescribably wonderful. If anyone out there has not read this, you must read this. Go now. There are references to past relationships that work gorgeously into the story.

raqs' Complicated is a similarly complex story. On the surface, it's a H/C, or maybe really competent team action/adventure, but it's also the very complex, not quite friendship but without possibilities, relationship between Daniel and Jack. An extraordinary story that says a great deal about a supremely competent soldier!Jack who fails at emotions so completely it's a nearly silent tragedy.

nialla42 writes snarky Breadbox Editions for Stargate episodes (like Mystery Science Theater 2K). Though most of the lampooned episodes are later seasons, she has posted Absolute Power: The Breadbox Edition. Oh yes. It's a peculiar brand of equal opportunity snark and funny that is just so much fun.

Platonic polyamory: Sam and Daniel and Jack from Meg (sage_theory): Passing Thus Alone which is elegant synchronous thinking and love, even of the platonic possibility, PG-13.

Also Sam/Daniel/Teal'c OT3 from and Ari (wisdomeagle) for Meg: Highest Wisdom, Deepest Love. Has a dreamlike quality throughout, and a beautiful canonical basis. Feels believable and real and needed, by the end. S4, NC-17.

surreallis wrote an OT3 offworld, with heat, and frustrated!Sam, and manipulative! Daniel and dangerous!Jack and I thought it worked really well. Sway, NC-17. Jack/Daniel/Sam. Characteristically nice balance between the three of them.

A really deftly executed Sam/Daniel/Jack poly from princessofg. All are in character, the relationships between them are individual and important and the chain of events requires all of them, with their skills and personalities and respect and strengths and attractions. How We Laugh the Day Away. NC-17.

Crossovers:

(sort of. An AU too) Earthbound by 01100100. Teal'c, SG-1, AU, and just one of the neatest ideas ever. Teal'c, Bounty Hunter (or Teal'c: Benton Fraiser-esque character). The big guy would be happy, with all his private investigator aspirations.

Dr. Who and Daniel Jackson, pre-SG-1, from medie: I make the glare for light bulbs. Quirky and wierd and marvelous communication between two lateral thinkers. Worksafe.

It's very easy to cross SG-1 with SGA, obviously, and dirty_diana's classic Absolute Power AU East of Eden does this very well, especially when the AU makes it very plausible that the Atlantis expedition wouldn't have happened. Reccing this fantastic Jack/Daniel dark fic let's me also point to my remix of it for gateverse_remix in 2007: All the Infections that the Sun Sucks Up (the waste your breath remix), which is a back of the canvas story focusing on Sam and John.

Slash sequel to an originally gen story, but I love the sequel for it's Halloween-appropriate creepiness. saffronhouse has an Angel/Sentinal/SG-1 'verse fic that I read the last piece of, and it's really extraordinary. I barely know Jim and Blare and Angel and Cordelia and I was still totally invested in them. The index is here: Tatters, by Martha, worksafe.

And Season 5:

Truly, this is an AU and not season specific except that Jack and Daniel have known each other six years: tripoli8's A Waltz Through Empty Beds is kind of fascinating Jack/Daniel AU. It's, what, espionage? And Daniel making his own choices, as he does, and Jack sort of not choosing in reaction (only that is a choice as well.) Seriously, very interesting. Worksafe, Jack/Daniel, PG or PG-13, SG-1 AU.

abyssinia4077 wrote an incredible ethereal Sam/Daniel story about lives lived and then separated. Thank goodness for the strength of connection that lets them come together. R rated. Preserve Your Memories (They're All That's Left You). Post-Divide and Conquer sometime.

Smut (I have no excuses and very little shame) of the Jack/Daniel variety. Short little ficlet from paian: You Can Fall For Chains of Gold. NSFW.

nandamai's S5ish Sam/Jack: self-control with a side of snippy. Rocking it old school UST style with humor. The Shaft, PG-13

aurora_novarum wrote Drawing Straws, an alternative take on Shades of Grey that felt marvelously like a different camera angle on a favorite episode. Gen, PG.

ann_i_blessing wrote a nice Sam gen piece. This, though, is Sam talking to one of her father's best friends, who is also her boss. Gen. Speaking True Her first fic in the fandom, go feed the author.

I think the one with the Gadmeer was season five (I am notoriously *bad* at remembering the seasons this or that episode happened). First person Jack, with great voice, and it's not just any Jack, either, it's pissy!Jack at the end of a long day dealing with stubborn!Daniel and his head is a marvelous place to be. Found Out About You, NC-17 from byrne.

sherrold wrote for raqs in the 2006 Jack/Daniel ficathon (hooray for trelkez!) a story with about three difference concurrent conversations all going on at the same time, all with a great sort of manly not-talking: A Man's Life. NC-17.

Long, plotty Sam & Jack with a great premise: What if, one day, Sam just lost it and snapped and went a bit AWOL. Frankly, I'm stunned it hasn't happened, but it was with great foresight that Jojo had Maybourne approach her with a proposal in a story that played right into Season 5's Desperate Measures. It also does that thing where characters are allowed to have faults, and make mistakes, and accept consequences, and drive their friends to the edge. Daniel and Teal'c exist in this very nicely and importantly and as players in relationships that stand on their own and are as important as the great unspoken thing between Sam and Jack. And when they're pushed to the edge, you do find out exactly what it would take to get them to talk. Crisis, by Jojo, PG-13.

merryish wrote a fantastic, long, plotty, classic SG-1: Downtime. There are a lot of things that could be said about this piece, but the bit that sticks out for me is the connection between Jack and Daniel, and the fact that Jack is just WONDERFUL. Smart and in charge and charming and capable. G, Jack and Daniel, or Jack/Daniel.

Five moments involving accidently overheard conversations from elishavah for destina: Semi-Plausible Deniability worksafe, but some Jack/Daniel overtones.
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My stuff (also known as blatant self-pimping):

Teal'c backstory, Bra'tac centric and pre-series (pre-movie even). Footsoldiers on Uneven Ground (Bra'tac, Teal'c backstory, preseries, PG) The woman he was looking for would not be among the revelers.

Janet, season 1: Bedside Manners (Janet, S1, PG, Author's Commentary) For the remixredux.

Daniel, and the team on a mission gone sideways: Like No One is Watching (S4, PG-13, Author's Commentary) 'I’m dying,' he realized suddenly, but he had faith that Sam would have gotten the notes on the stone to the right people and Jack would have gotten them all home.
Written for the SG-1 Team Ficathon.

Your recs, self-pimping and other contributions in the comments are also most welcome.