Top SGA Online Fic 2006

[icarus]

Just out of curiosity, if one were to compile a list of the top/best/most influential/memorable slash and/or gen fics of this year --

-- which ones would you include?

I have in mind to start with synecdochic's "Freedom's Just Another Name For Nothing Left To Lose." That one's easy, it's amazing and powerful and swept the fandom like a tidal wave.

But what other tidal waves have hit this year? The Post Secret challenge? I mean, if I were collecting the most influential/top fics characterizing 2005 I'd have an entire section devoted to the sga_flashfic's Harlequin challenge.


ETA: Okay, skimming the mega-reviewed fics on sga_flashfic gives us a start. Now on to the Fan Awards.

ETA2: Ah. The tricky part is when the story was written. About two thirds of the Stargatefanawards stories are from 2005. Hmm. Perhaps run backwards through the sga_newsletter for familiar names. Also, might need to stick to slash.

ETA3: Okay, picking through stories, using a baseline number of reviews as an indicator of fandom interest, then appearances on rec-lists, and on del.icio.us, the story discussion such as the immense amount of discussion spawned by "Freedom's Just...". I'll probably do a poll at some point, something open-ended to gather opinions.

A couple of interesting flavors that have turned up this year:

1) western AUs and the influence of "Brokeback Mountain,"
2) curling,
3) the final carryover from last year's penguins, unicorns, dolphins,
4) reel_sga,
5) some controversies, "Will the real John please stand up?" and "Has McShep taken over the fandom?" and BDSM fic, though I want point to a story.
6) it seems silly crack!fics have given way to careful, world-building AUs.

Not sure how this'll be put together. A rec-list of sorts? With a contextualized commentary?

ETA4: "Okay, picking through stories, using a baseline number of reviews as an indicator of fandom interest, then appearances on rec-lists, and on del.icio.us, the story discussion such as the immense amount of discussion..."-?? When did I change my name to McKay? This is the fault of reading your McKay fics, all of you.

ETA5: Trends pointed out by toft_froggy -

7) DADT fics
8) Darker fics in general
9) Darker, more fucked-up John

Almost forgot bruinsfan's point -

10) John/Mitchell SGA/SG1 crossovers

Comments

[gurrier.livejournal.com]

Other than FJANFNLTL? I'd nominate sheafrotherdon's "A Farm in Iowa" universe (http://sheafrotherdon.livejournal.com/tag/iowa+universe), auburnnotlisa's Ardhanarishvara (http://www.eternalvox.net/~auburn/Ardhanarishvara.html) (aka the one I can't spell) and tzi and zaganthi's
Do I Know You From a Frat Mixer, or Another Galaxy? (http://community.livejournal.com/sga_flashfic/434243.html#cutid1). I don't know if any count as influential, but they're my current picks for the top/best/most memorable category!

[h-oserheidi.livejournal.com]

i just want to say, you should be incredibly jelous of me for getting to take this cyber culture class. if you were in my class, it would be you and me talking the entire class period and the rest of the class trying to claw their way into discussion. hahaha. but it's very interested in blogging and fanfic etc. and basically how technology, culture, economics, personal agency and identity are interlinked/influence eachother. so cool. i think i'm going to ask to sit in on my prof's grad level class. it's m + w @ 1:30 in the communications building, room 226. do you want to go with me?
-heidi

p.s. we could get coffee or go on a walk or something tommorow, friday between 10 30 and 3 30. . . my break between classes.

p.p.s. why do you think people are freaking out so much about the new live feed of people's activites on facebook? what do you think people find important about privacy and why is it such a fear surrounding the proliferation of networked technology. how do we currently present ourselves in public that makes privacy such and important aspect of our selves?

pppps. the government is scary.

[bruinsfan.livejournal.com]

I'd say Frostfire's "Here Is no Water" (http://frostfire.killerstar.net/stories/nowater.html) would be a good choice - it seemed to spark a Mitchell/Sheppard crossover trend.

I'd also list your "Last Port of Call" as a well-writen story that caused a lot of spirited discussion in fandom, though I can understand you might be reluctant to include it for various reasons.

[wordwitch.livejournal.com]

I wonder if looking at Those Stories Most Saved in del.icio.us would be of use in this regard?
- eh, as I check my own links, I find that the most-saved are not always the most-moving. Forex, The Body Holographic was saved by 27 other people as of this evening, but A Supermarket in California was saved by 99 and Hindsight by 133.

So maybe not so much.

[adri-n.livejournal.com]

Apologies for being random, but I have to ask. Curling? I missed curling in fic? Really?

[rike-tikki-tavi.livejournal.com]

What about ltlj's Retrograde series (http://www.ltljverse.com/watergate/seriesindex.htm)?

[hack-benjamin22.livejournal.com]

You've got yourself quite a project here. ^^

Things I Would Include:
Biggest Ever Sky (http://jchalo.livejournal.com/1721601.html) by jchalo and lilysaid

Scenes From A Lesser War (http://amific.livejournal.com/4455.html) by amireal

Basura (http://www.caffiends.net/viewstory.php?sid=390) by Kat Reitz and Tzigane

A Fortress In Colorado (http://cottontail73.livejournal.com/3360.html) by cottontail73

(I'm pretty sure these were all published in 2006.) While some of these may not have the 110+ reviews that you're looking for I think they should be considered. Another way to pick out memorable stories, for the fandom, might be to see what got made into audio fics. You would probably have to ignore things done by the authors themselves, but ones done by outside sources might give you interesting statistics.

For example, A Supermarket In California (http://cottontail73.livejournal.com/3360.html) by taffetablue made such a huge impact on me that I got permission to make a podfic out of it.

You might also want to make note of the trend with titles like A Supermarket, fortess, farm, etc. In Iowa, California, Colorado, etc. I've seen that being used a lot.

[toft-froggy.livejournal.com]

This is really interesting. Just some things I thought of, on first reading - the evolution of fanon!John over the year? I've been thinking about this recently, and it seems to me that on reading fics that were written a couple of years ago and very popular of the time, like, say, astolat's Transcendental or Time in a Bottle, the way John's being written now has changed so much so that many of those older fics seem OC to me, now, although at the time they didn't. Is that because the way his character's been rounded out in canon (although I'm not sure it has at all) or just stories like cesperanza's MVP taking centre stage, where John's a lot more fucked up? I think generally speaking the fandom has taken a turn for the darker, actually. trinityofone's 'Human Vacillation' and 'Misery to Man', were more darker and sci-fi-y than the fandom was used to, as far as I could see. Also there was a period where fics which dealt in some way with DADT seemed to become quite big, like trinityofone's DADT, Damyata, Dayadhvam and amireal's Scenes from a Lesser War.

Hope that's helpful!