Fic rec: Translations and Diplomacy, by Nightspear

night_spear1287 has just posted the epilogue to Diplomacy, the novel-length sequel to Translations.

I can't say this often enough: this is one of the best AUs ever.

Translations starts out a bit slowly, because we need background: the Stargate was opened in '82, by Claire and Mel Jackson. Jack was a member of the team, not the leader. Claire and Mel stayed behind... and when Jack led a team back to Abydos in '97 after Apophis raided the base, he met their 13-year-old son Daniel. By the time we finish chapter two, Daniel, together with Sha'uri and Skaara, have been taken to Chulak; Claire and Mel are dead; and when Sha'uri and Skaara are taken as hosts, Sam and Jack take Daniel back to Earth, where he's stuck until the Abydos Gate will be opened a year later.

For me, that's when the story really starts. Daniel has to adjust to life on a different planet, to Teal'c, to the expectations he meets and the cutural mores he doesn't understand. (On Abydos, he's on the cusp of adulthood; he doesn't understand why the Tau'ri insist on treating him like a kid.) Jack has to struggle between seeing Daniel as a teenager, seeing him as the son of Mel and Claire that he'd pledged to keep safe, not seeing him as a Charlie-substitute, and accepting Daniel's very burning need to do his part in the struggle against the Goa'uld. Add some lovely Sam and Daniel interaction, and fantastic Teal'c and Daniel friendship (Daniel becomes Teal'c's chalti), and I was completely hooked.

Translations ends, more or less, with the AU version of The Serpent's Lair. Diplomacy picks up right where Translations left off, and it's even better. There's less Teal'c and Daniel friendship here, sadly (although the post-Serpent's Song discussion that the two of them share will blow you away), but the Jack and Daniel friendship is simply awesome beyond words. Jack fully accepts Daniel as an equal, not a child - although the scene where he has to teach Daniel how to handle the gun is wrenching - and their back-and-forth banter is a delight. Some elements from S3 work their way into this fic; the storylines do change to reflect a team without Daniel, and an Abydos where Daniel has lost his brother and sister, not his wife.

To me, the best parts of Night Spear's wonderful fic is the repercussions. We get the team's reactions to events, not just events themselves. And Night Spear does a superb job of weaving Daniel into the story without shoehorning him into those parts where he just doesn't fit in this different role.

Have you ever had a fic that you just want to make people sit down and read, just so they can discover how wonderful it is? Translations and Diplomacy are those fics. Do yourself a favor: read Night Spear's incredible AU. You'll fall in love with it, guaranteed.

Canon vs. Fanon, part 17: A Jack O'Neill Edition, part 2

Welcome to another edition of Canon vs. Fanon! It's been five months since the last one, and there are a lot of newcomers on my flist. I hope you'll pull up your keyboard and join the discussion - opinions of all kinds are welcome. If you're unfamiliar with this meta series, you can follow the tags, or use the direct links at the LJ Index.

Most of the Canon vs. Fanon posts are Daniel or team-centric. This one, though, is our second Jack O'Neill edition. In the past, we've discussed trees, 2IC status, and practical jokes. We're covering several more topics this time, and I'm still not finished with my Jack list of fanon tropes, so we might get the chance for a third Jack O'Neill edition in the future.

Recap: Canon is anything shown onscreen in Stargate: The Movie or Stargate SG-1; show supersedes movie if there are contradictions. (Abydos is one of the closest Stargates to Earth, not located in another galaxy.) Fanon is defined as popular concepts that occur regularly in fanfic, but have little or no actual canon basis to defend them.

The purpose of this series is not to mock or denigrate fanfic writers who use fanon, but to point out which common tropes are based on fanon instead of canon. As always, pointers to what I've missed, and discussions and/or disagreements with my analyses, are welcome in the comments.

( bored Jack annoying Daniel and Sam )

( Jack and hockey )

( Jack's knees )

As a bonus, I offer two fanon tropes that have no canon basis whatsoever:

( They're artifacts, not rocks! )

( Jack's hand on the back of Daniel's neck )

( personal fanon opinion )

"Anyway, I'm sorry, but that just happens to be the way that I feel about it. What do you think?"

ETA: LJ's e-mail notifications don't seem to be working at the moment. If I miss your comment, or delay replying, please don't take it personally. :)