Seven Stargates

[icarus]

Harry Potter

I reserved my copy of Harry Potter and the Half Blood Prince today. I only have one request: more about Snape. A plotbunny came sniffing around... Snape being interviewed by junior reporter Rita Skeeter after the first fall of Voldemort. Snape thinks he has his 15 minutes of fame, a chance to vindicate himself; she only wants to ask about Death Eater orgies.

Stargate SG-1 and Harry Potter Writers

Several weeks ago I chatted with a rogues gallery of HP writers, passing along a link to an award-winning Stargate story. Now, it's award-winning on Area 52, which Stargate writers know is this universe's version of FF.net. (Don't worry, the story wasn't by anyone on my friendslist, and thegrrrl2002, your writing is wonderful so don't you dare think it was you.)

The HP writers were horrifed. Spell-bound with dreadful characterization, the unrealistic sex, florid and painful word useage.

"See?" I urged them (among whom were some of what I consider to be the top writers in HP), "SG-1 needs you."

"Point me to some episodes and a fandom guide," said one with a flourish. "I so own this fandom." There were nods and mutters of agreement.

I believe that all skilled fanfic writers must do the following:

1 - write Jack/Daniel
2 - write at least ten Jack/Daniel stories
3 - write at least one novel-length Jack/Daniel story

Current and older episodes are shown on the SciFi channel (there is Stargate Atlantis and Stargate SG-1). I recommend checking out seasons 1-4 in particular, because that's where you find the most Jack/Daniel action. In the US, Fox is showing Stargate at 11pm on Sunday nights in most areas, and on Saturday afternoons.

A fandom guide is here Arduinna's Stargate SG-1 Handbook.

Examples of good Stargate Fanfic to inspire you are here:
Dr. Jackson's Diary by Anais (Tongue in cheek and funnier than hell.)
Kawoosh! (Short, good feel for the universe, with a stick-to-your-ribs point.)
Anna S. (Deep. Angst-driven, and lushly written.)
Destina Fortunato (Five Moons is a favorite of mine. Interesting, well-plotted stories that mix adventure and sex.)
The Grrrl (Hot, sexy fics that leave you warm and happy, like a cup of cocoa, or touching and wistful, that leave you thoughful. For prime laughs, read Rated Five Stars. For thoughtful The Space Within.)
Keiko Kirin (My favorite is still the Steak Series. Perfect characterization and believable slow-build.)

Once you write your SG-1 slash, send it to:

Area 52
jackslashdaniel

Or post it in:

jackslashdaniel
stargateslash


Now I'm waiting for the universe to comply with my demands. *crickets chirp*

I'm astonished to find that I have - if you count my two incomplete The Road Home and The Walls Of Jericho - seven SG-1 fanfics. When did that happen? Granted, one's a drabble and compared to the HP fics they're rather short. But, really? That many? So soon? It's only been four months.

Comments

[tripoli8.livejournal.com]

Regrettably true. I still think SG's crap-to-good stuff ratio is lower, just because HP is such a huge freaking fandom that they get way more of the 13 year old girl set than some others. It also means they get more people who are brilliant, which is sad for the rest of us, but hey, good stories are good stories. I've read some of the HP classics and been reasonably impressed, if not blown away, but a lot of it's just a matter of preference.

Also, Icarus, you rock. Good J/D is getting really hard to find.

[titti]

I still think SG's crap-to-good stuff ratio is lower

Oh I don't think so. Even with all the ff.net crap, there is a large body of great stories, and when I mean large, I mean huge. Authors, and I do mean the good ones, have tens and tens of stories, plus ficlets, add drabbles. Even assuming thaat the ratio is lower in HP, there are still thousands of fics that you can rid before getting bored.

I've just started reading SG1, and even the ones that have been rec'ed as 'good' stories don't come close to the level of quality that there is in HP.

I also think that lj based HP is very selective. You get crucified for OOCness (if I read another crying Daniel, I'll kill someone), grammar mistakes, multiple POVs within a few paragraphs. Yes, we do get wanky since we ask for better quality than even Jo produces, but people think twice before posting.

[tripoli8.livejournal.com]

That's where the preferences thing comes in--I *enjoy* a good HP story, but I've never read one that's knocked my socks off, even ones with hundreds of die-hard followers.

It also depends where in SG you end up. The talent definitely congregates to certain types of stories (good gen is incredibly tough to find).

That said, I'm obviously not as familiar with HP as somebody who's active in the fandom; I've read a fair amount of RL/SB and a few classics from other pairings and barring other great stories that get recced that's about it. I don't particularly care about most of the characters, so it's tough for a story to really involve me. If you love the SG characters, you love stories where they're well-written.

[titti]

I read and write 99.9% slash, so that's my experience in any fandom. I also have been in HP since before the 1st movie came out, and in the past 4+ years I've watched it change so much. From experience the ones with the hundreds of die hard followers are the ones that suck the most, as opposed to SG1.

[tripoli8.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry--I'm just laughing because I've been in SG almost five years too, and I was having exactly the opposite conversation with a friend of mine the other day. Please, please, whatever impression you take from SG1, please don't let it be that the good stories are the popular ones. I *promise* we're not all crazy.

(I feel like I say that a lot in this fandom.)

[titti]

I'm sure there are exceptions, but here is the difference: you asks for the best writers and Destina and Anna S are the first names mentioned from almost everyone.

You ask a HP fan who are the best writers and first you get: what genre? Once that is established we go through the possible 100 or so pairing in slash. Then you get asked if you want vanilla or kinks, chan or incest, long or short, pwp or plot, and after you finally narrow it down, you get different names. God, I love how wacky the HP fandom is. LOL

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

That's a function of fandom size, having that many options. Size and sheer number of characters to work with -- the permutations increase exponentially.

Icarus

[titti]

Oh yeah, but I have to laugh when there are character analysis on pairings like Blaise/Nott. They have been mentioned once each, what analysis is there to do. HP: We go overboard with our ships. It should be the official motto.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

*looks shifty* I haven't gone overboard. I mean, Terry Boot is a vitally important character in the Harry Potter world.

*scuffs floor and clears throat*

Icarus

[titti]

Yeah, but you don't write 5 pages of meta about his importance, do you? LOL

*ahem*

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Oh no. Of course not. I'm not even remotely fascinated by Terry Boot.

A Moment Of Sin (http://www.icarus.slashcity.net/stories/amomentofsin.html)
A Scandalous Interview (http://www.icarus.slashcity.net/stories/ascandalous.html)

Terry Boot Character Sketch

I love that actually. I really like Terry Boot.

It's funny, but his personality is very clear to me. He's outgoing and gregarious, has dark curly hair and a rather ordinary, cheerful, boy-next-door face. He's smart, somewhat irreverent and will joke to distract people from what's serious, all the while watching them carefully -- and with curiosity. His disarming manner causes people to underestimate him constantly.

It was a big surprise to a lot of people when he was put in Ravenclaw instead of Hufflepuff or maybe Gryffindor (maybe).

In fact the only thing the Sorting Hat debated was whether he should go in Slytherin or Ravenclaw. It decided he was more interested in knowing things for their own sake than to benefit himself. He wasn't quite ambitious enough for Slytherin, though he would do well there because of his uncanny ability to fool people and keep secrets.

His detached curiosity allows him to sort of float through tough circumstances and keep his sense of humour. He's still fresh after all he's been through. He's fascinated by corrupt bullshit and finds the seedy side of life rather entertaining ("wow, people really think like that? Weird!").

*sheepish*
Icarus

Re: *ahem*

[titti]

I actually read those, and I enjoyed them very much. (so yeah, as much as I laugh I will read them) More proof of our mental state. LOL

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

But let's not get too cocky, I mean, part of what's driving the ocean swell of fanfic is that HP is this international phenomenon. Did you know that both my Linguistics textbooks use Harry Potter sentence examples? In addition there are years between updates, so starved Harry Potter readers turn to fanfic, and there's plenty of time to explore every possibility of current canon before we're hit with more canon. At the same time, there's the tension of knowing more canon's on the way, and foreshadowing of a type that you don't really find in a TV series (save maybe the X-Files, which goes a long way to explaining that fanon).

Once the seventh book is published, we'll probably see a complete explosion for a while (1-2 years?) then a real die-back.

All things are temporary. We're just here for the peak of perfection. /Buddhist mumbo-jumbo

Icarus

[titti]

I completely agree that there are factors that go beyond the fans, but it has helped create something much bigger. If I were to make a guess, I'd say that this will be like Star Trek, one of those fandoms that won't die. THere have been too many friendships forged. There has been the instutationalization of fandom. In other fandoms, there are fans scattered. In HP, you can almost feel an unity.

Just look back at the lj blackout, in a few hours, we had set up house in a different journaling system. The snitch helped, but the word spread really quickly with emails, and AIM and people creating journals in GJ in a zip. None of the other fandoms did that.

Of course, this could also be proof that we are insane.

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I guess what I want to avoid the "nyah, nyah, we are bet-ter" attitude, plllbbbt!

I just... don't like it. If we've got a lot of good writers and fanfic, we're lucky, that's all.

Icarus

[titti]

You thought I meant we are better? Nah, we're just crazier. LOL

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

Ah. Well then, yeah, there's a certain obsessive mania....

Icarus

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

I have some theories, but the bottom line is that, at thirty times the size of the Stargate fandom, Harry Potter has plenty of writers to spare -- and I want more Jack/Daniel fic.

I can just imagine an angst-filled post-Ascension fic by wikdsushi.

Or a softly funny tender Jack/Daniel by copperbadge (As the penultimate Remus/Sirius writer he's perfect for that pairing).

A brutally weird off-world nightmare by kennahijja or amanuensis1.

A softly painful Sam-centric fic by switchknife.

Jack, being Jack and damned funny, by hp_femme.

The off-world adventures the scientifically brilliant (and funny) goseaward could invent.

mad_maudlin's witty Ron/Draco banter applied Jack/Daniel or Jack/Maybourne snark-fest.

Oh, the possibilities. If I could encourage just one of them.

Have you seen titti's Crossroads (http://www.livejournal.com/users/titti/229740.html#cutid1)? Wonderful writer, she is, and there's word of another story on the way.

HP has plenty of writers to share. On loan for a little bit. ;)

Also, Icarus, you rock. Good J/D is getting really hard to find.

Oh hey, just caught this bit. For writing J/D, or for begging for more? *teeth gleam*

Icarus

[mad_maudlin]

...you're trying to flatter me, aren't you?

[icarusancalion.livejournal.com]

No, actually, that's just honesty. You'd do a fab Jack/Maybourne or Jack/Daniel blow up at each other over an idiotic mess.

Icarus

[mad_maudlin]

Too bad I don't watch TV, then...