Birthday Alphabet Soup!

[fignewton]

Because my flist is nearly as awesome as SG-1, they sneakily arranged the most delightful birthday present for me: sg_fignewton Alphabet Soup. Even the "_" got a ficlet! :D

Be aware that there is a very nice and extremely tasteful largeish image included... :)

Thank you to holdouttrout, stargazercmc, zats_clear, traycer_, eve11, abyssinia4077, pepper_field, randomfreshink, shutthef_up, maychorian, crazedturkey, and supplyship for my birthday fic. And Abyssis, don't think I'm unaware of the extra special ~smooch~ you deserve for taking on the massive effort of organizing all the this!

There is NO WAY that I can sufficiently squee in the space of a comment or three, so I am giving all my feedback here. Spoilers ahead! Do not open the LJ cut until you've gone and read even single one of these fantastic and funny and teamy fics!


Holdoutrout wrote S is for Suspect - four times when SG-1 aroused or experienced suspicion. I love the green skin and the teasing (because oh, think of how teasing must be a cottage industry at the SGC!), and Daniel being arrested for being a woman, and the team very carefully going to great lengths just to drive Jack a little more crazy:

"So..." Jack said. Sam and Daniel looked expectantly at him. "You guys just had to make me the most complicated cake the universe has ever seen."

Daniel and Sam exchanged a look. "Yep," Sam said, just as Daniel said, "Basically."

Also, Teal'c threatening a cake with a knife is a fantastic image. :)

Out of curiosity, is PX4-227 a canonical reference that I'm missing, or a scenario of your own?

Thank you, Holdoutrout. :)


Next, Stargazer wrote G is for Gray, a beautifully moving Cassie ficlet that is a tribute to Janet, and the team, and the sharing of grief and memory. I love Cassie's thoughts, the formal ceremony she makes out of this brushing with her past and the people who love her... and then moving on to the present and reality, as she needs to do.

Thank you, Stargazer. :)


Only Zats could make a ficlet out of an underline! She wrote _ is for Freespace, which is hilarious and teamy and all dialogue. It's wonderfully easy to spot who is saying what and to visualize the tangle of arms and legs and snark! And, of course, Jack has to get the last smug word...

Thank you, Zats. :)


Traycer wrote the very thoughtful F is for Freedom. Early team, still coming to terms with one another (I do love that era!). I love how they're learning new things, and accidentally (metaphorically) stepping on one another's toes, until they find the true common denominator, and the promise for the future: the freedom to choose. And this exchange made me laugh:

"A regular Matt Mason," Jack just had to say. She looked at him with surprise, before smiling broadly at him.

"My backpack is cooler than his," she responded with a laugh.

Thank you, Traycer. :)


Eve11 gave me I is for Ice World, which has the team arriving on a frozen planet. I love how this ficlet is complete in and of itself, yet suggests an entire story lurking just beneath the surface. We get unflappable Sam and Jack name-mangling and capable Teal'c and nervous Daniel, all in one delicious package!

Thank you, Eve11. :)


Abyssis (who gets extra smooches!) wrote me marvelous teamwork in G is for Gravity. Sam talking Daniel through crisis, Jack and Teal'c as the very literal lifelines, and squee! the suggestion of a prequel to Eroding Away the Mountains!

"Sam, you're a physicist, can't you turn gravity off or, or, backwards or something? Just for a little while?"

I don't know which book Teal'c had in mind, but I immediately flashed on Sam Gamgee in LotR. Can't see Janet lending that to Teal'c, though!

Thank you, Abyssis. :)


Pepper wrote the hilarious N is for Nish'ta, in which Teal'c and Jacob effortlessly tag-team and the pwnage goes through the roof and WHY DO WE NEVER GET TO SEE THAT ONSCREEN? The awful temptation of considering the usefulness of compliant Sam and Jack and Daniel! Selmac getting just as much of a kick out of it as Jacob! And the videotape... ::dissolves in giggles::

Poor Daniel, trying to find the bright side when there isn't one!

Thank you, Pepper. :)


Random offered superb Sam and Daniel interaction in E is for E, with her always wonderful Jack voice. This is so them - reaching for distractions that would baffle anyone else, and actually arguing about it. I love Jack understanding this and even chiming in when they seem to be flagging. I love Teal'c staggering along, and adding his own contribution for the sake of the others. I love the team working together in every way possible to get them all back home - and, once they are back home, back whole.

Jack got himself out of there before his geeks could start up with the 'f's.

::happy sigh::

Thank you, Random. :)


Courser gave me delicate worldview for the whole team in W is for Worldview. Lovely, insightful stuff, looking at how each member of the team walked into its formation and how they've absorbed the others' ideals and changed over time. Jack learning to see the shades and patterns. I love Sam's initial Science was safer, and how she's learned to question. Teal'c's bafflement with the chaos on Earth is marvelous. And Daniel's is the most heartbreaking: Sometimes he regrets it, sometimes he doesn’t but he remembers a time when he was a kinder, gentler person. Because yes, I will always love Daniel, but I'm saddened at many of the changes he's undergone, and that sums it up perfectly.

Thank you, Courser. :)


Maychorian had me laughing out loud with T is for Trouble, especially with Jack's mental voice screaming FORBIDDEN JUNGLE! Superficially, this seems like fluffy team fun, but I love, love that Jack recognizes that yes, they can pull together, all four of them, and work as a team, with each person's talents and abilities contributing to one glorious whole.

Maybe he could shoot them off.

I'm not sure if the temptation was to shoot the tarantulas or to shoot Daniel at that point...

Thank you, Maychorian. :)


Gillian wrote O is for Oz, because seriously, if we're tired of fanon-cliched writers talking about Oz all the time, how must the team feel about it? :) This had me grinning, as Sam and Daniel consider the alternatives and, together with Teal'c, eventually decide that hey, Jack is worth it.

"What about Star Wars?"

"That unrealistic piece of cr....?!"

A heavy thud heralded Teal'c changing feet on the bench. Sam looked at him contritely. "Sorry, Teal'c."

Ooooh, Sam, you should know better than disparage Star Wars in Teal'c's hearing!

Thank you, Gillian. :)


And last - but certainly not least! - Supplyship indulged my Daniel love with N is No Way (or possibly Not in this Lifetime, which at least offers future options), in which the team manages to talk Daniel into giving me a very special birthday present! Check is in the mail, Sam and Teal'c and Jack...

Thank you, Supplyship. :)


I cannot possibly thank you all enough. But as a very feeble effort, I offer this:



Or this one, which I played with a bit more:



I'm not very good with Photoshop - I hope you can see the hint of the chevron there. But it's free for the taking, for anyone who wants it! :)

::wanders off to read ficlets all over again::

Comments

[shutthef-up.livejournal.com]

It was such a pleasure to do this for you, Fig. Despite my difficulties settling down to writing lately, I was confident I could muster it for your birthday.

Many happy returns, Fig!

[maychorian.livejournal.com]

You're very welcome! It was a lot of fun, though I was getting very antsy toward the end, afraid that it wouldn't get up in time. (Yes, I'll admit it, I was refreshing Abyssis's blog every ten minutes or so.) I'm glad you enjoyed it. :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! I loved what you wrote and I know you're really busy now, so it was doubly appreciated!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

It's that ficathon feeling... :)

Thank you SO MUCH for your hilarious contribution!

[thraesja.livejournal.com]

These were all excellent. What a nice early morning teamy-goodness read.

Happy Birthday.

[abyssinia4077.livejournal.com]

EEEE!

I'M SO GLAD IT MADE YOU HAPPY!

I'm also still so relieved we managed to pull it off (and you need to thank Aurora for super sekrit agent reasons)

Abyssis (who gets extra smooches!) wrote me marvelous teamwork in G is for Gravity. Sam talking Daniel through crisis, Jack and Teal'c as the very literal lifelines, and squee! the suggestion of a prequel to Eroding Away the Mountains!

Oh, god, I've got to finish the *sequel* first! :)

I don't know which book Teal'c had in mind, but I immediately flashed on Sam Gamgee in LotR. Can't see Janet lending that to Teal'c, though!

Oh, I was definitely thinking of Samwise - wasn't sure if I was too vague or not. As for Janet...it was going to be Bill Lee or one of the other scientists and then I realized this was EARLY before we really met any of them and I flailed and...picked Janet out of a hat. I bet she's at least aware of them.

YAY YOUR BIRTHDAY!

*smooches back*

[http://users.livejournal.com/traycer_/]

So glad you liked these fics. I haven't had a chance to go through all of them yet, but your thoughts on them made me squeee. I can't wait to read them all!

Traycer wrote the very thoughtful F is for Freedom. Early team, still coming to terms with one another (I do love that era!)

Me too!!

I love how they're learning new things, and accidentally (metaphorically) stepping on one another's toes, until they find the true common denominator, and the promise for the future: the freedom to choose.

Oh my gosh! How is it you can make even the most mundane scenario sound so stimulating? You have so many wonderful talents. :)

And you are so very welcome! I'm glad that you had a fantastic birthday. :D

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Thank you! :)

I'm so lucky to have such a fantastic flist.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Organizing these things is a lot more complicated than it looks, I know! ::hugs:: to you, and to Aurora for her super sekrit agentry!

And, heh - I meant that your ficlet is, itself, a prequel. But I wouldn't object to another longer one, nope...

Aha! So it was Sam! Now I'm going to have to twist my perception of Janet - not just that she reads LotR, but that she'd suggest it to Teal'c. Hmmmm. Isn't it great what last-minute changes can inspire? :)

Thanks again, sweetie. You made my whole week.

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

I've found that authors often don't even realize how much they're pouring out onto the page. Random, for instance, often discovers underlying themes when she betas for me - things I didn't even recognize were there!

Thanks again for a great ficlet, and helping make my birthday wonderful. :)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Yay yay yay! I'm so glad you liked it all. *grins*

The planet is a completely arbitrary designation created for this particular situation. :-) And Teal'c would TOTALLY threaten cakes with knives. He wouldn't be able to help himself!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Also, the cakes would surrender, and slice themselves, out of sheer terror. :)

[holdouttrout.livejournal.com]

Indeed, cake is not a formidable foe.

[cnidarian.livejournal.com]

Heehee! Every time you posted with birthday glee over the last few days, I was thinking, "And that's not even the half of it!" for there was soup that you didn't know was stewing. Yey for fandom generosity and surprises!

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Yay! One squeeful surprise after another - clearly, our fandom is absolutely made of win. :)

[stargazercmc.livejournal.com]

When abyssinia4077 asked if anyone was interested, it was a no-brainer. I'm really glad you enjoyed it all - you definitely deserved it for all of the pleasure you bring others through the various alphabet soup fics out there. Happy Birthday. :)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Oh, thank you! :) I really enjoyed your ficlet, and I appreciate your contribution to making my birthday so squeeful!

[eve11]

Aw, thanks for your lovely comments. It was a pleasure. heh, I finished it and was worried it would be too long for a drabble, at over 300 words. I'm always looking for ways to make my stories *shorter*. This might explain why I write so little ;)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Really, the only way you would've made me grin any wider is if you'd somehow added Lumpy the Mattress to the mix... ;)

Thanks so much for adding to the squee!