holdouttrout | Collecting, Collecting

So...In the Interest of Humanity, I, Holdouttrout, multishipper and fic-reader of all genres, hereby Announce my desire to compile a listing of that most Rare and Wonderful Gem:

Good Cliche-Fic.

That's right. And to start off with, we're going to find the best examples of...

Aliens Made Them Do It.

Ah, those pesky aliens. Always wanting teh secks. No one quite understands why all alien cultures have a deep-seated need to see our favorite pairings do the deed, but it is a well-documented fact that no respectable alien culture is complete without an obscure law or two requiring copulation. (ETA: This does not mean alien influence, whereby one or more members of the team is influenced in some way by an alien substance. That's another cliche in my opinion).

Most attempts at this particular fan favorite end in tears. Tears of joy on the characters' parts, tears of pain on the part of the readers. But we all know that any cliche, done right, is worth the hours of sifting and struggling as we find that shining example of good, serious, fun, thoughtful, ridiculous, fic.

I'd list my own favorites, but I just scrolled through my list and...nada. Zip. Zilch. Zero. Which means, simply, that I was lame and didn't save them when I read them. Which might be my motive for this post in the first place.

Also, if you have other suggestions for categories (baby fic is already on the list, as is miniOTP/Team), leave them in the comments.

Or, you know, tell me that someone already did this and where I can find it.

:-)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

I usually don't read this genre because it really bothers me that most authors don't acknowledge the repercussions of AMTDI essentially being non-con and, well, usually not my thing.

However, once upon a time I clicked on

surrealphantast's The Rites of Hedona which is a Sam/Daniel AMTDI and, well, to me, is exactly how each of them would react to the story's situation and how it would or would not impact their friendship.

I usually don't read this genre because it really bothers me that most authors don't acknowledge the repercussions of AMTDI essentially being non-con and, well, usually not my thing.

Yeah. That's what I see as the main failing of this genre. I'm sure there's good not horribly angsty stuff out there, but it is a rather awful situation.

Actually, I'm fine with the angst.

What bothers me are how often stories like that have the characters be perfectly fine with what happened and accept it without question or problem. Or have it not affect them.

Actually, that's what I meant to say. My phrasing was just awful and convoluted. ;-)

I can be okay with it if it's completely silly like Nanda's A.D.E.A. (I remembered one!) here: http://nandamai.net/fic/?p=100

That being said, it's normally a pretty awful situation.

I thought it might be what you meant.

Yes on the silly being acceptable and the ones that deal with consequences/aftermath.

Definitely normally pretty awful. Also...okay, I get that fandom likes porn, but it seems like such a weird idea to be so popular. I mean, I can understand situations where a team member would be raped by an alien (Daniel was raped by Hathor, Sha're by Apophis/Amaunet...there might have been other examples I'm blanking on - I guess sortof Jolinar/the dude on Netu) but it seems odd that aliens would insist the team have sex with each other. But I also don't get the "they got married" convention (I guess SG-1 started that with the "Brief Candle" wedding cake) - though I could imagine cases where pretending to be already married would be useful.

Dunno. Fandom is crazy. I like it that way.

You know what I think it is? At least one reason fandom likes this particular cliche so much, because they can ignore all the rules about getting two characters to have sex. They don't have to build UST. They don't have to provide justification for breaking regulations. It's just... do or die. And, of course, there are authors who love to deal with it seriously and all the consequences thereof, and those who only write crackified versions, but I think a lot of writers just like it because it's sort of a 'get out of jail free' card. I could be wrong though. ;)

*pouts*

but I want a rational reason why the aliens would want it!

*pouts*

No, you're right, that is 100% exactly why it's so popular. :)

Yeah. It so is.

It's a really terribly strange idea, when you think about it.

...So I don't.

;-)

Ah, but AMTDI needs clarification. Do you mean some alien SUBSTANCE made them do it, or aliens literally held a gun to their head or used some other method of coersion to make them do it?

I *knew* forgot something. *facepalm*

I'm meaning coercion of some kind. I think "alien influence" would cover the substance stuff.

Ah, see, then I have many less suggestions, because actually, that's a scenario you see a lot less (and usually not done well at all). However, if we're including Atlantis in the mix, raisintorte has the very cute Red Light On A Wedding Night (I think that's the one, anyway). It's AMTDI...but they fake it. :-)

Atlantis is certainly welcome. I'll have to hunt that one down.

It's here: http://raisintorte.livejournal.com/117682.html

Sam's in it, too.

Oh, I just LOVE that. So hilarious.

Thanks!

Oh, hands down, Lyssie's Cauterized People. Definitely deals with the dark side of such things. Dark fic all around with main character deaths and all, but truly an amazing example of the genre.
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/2247988/1/

And I did a list of miniOTP recs a while ago, if you are interested!
http://annerbhp.livejournal.com/35026.html

This is a fun idea, can't wait to see what is rec'd! :)

I was just sitting around, thinking how much I'd like all my favorite cliche fics in the same place, and wondering why there wasn't some kind of list.

I'll check Lyssie's out.

And I *thought* someone did a mini!OTP list. Shoulda' known. ;-)

Definately a fan of Janis Cortese's Animal Husbandry which is angsty and gritty and just very REAL. Sam and Jack are forced into a horrible situation and both have some very real fallout from it. Also, I love her geeking out over the evolution of spoken language, which is a very cool angle to take with this fic.

Oh, I forgot about that one! I really like Sam's completely frustrated, snappy, snarky tone and the idea that the aliens don't see her as intelligent because they...don't want to, really.

Plus, the ending is tragic, in the sense that it does cause the kind of emotional fallout that you'd expect.

Her take on Sam is wonderful and really spot-on, I think. And it's all the more impressive what with her being an unabashed Jack/Daniel shipper.

The fic is actually kind of disturbing to read because it's all just very real. But it takes on the cliche and handles it beautifully.

I also think They're Mine by

crayonbreakygal is a very sad but cool OT3 take on the cliche. It's mostly Sam/Daniel, but it ends with Sam, Jack, and Daniel comforting each other in the only way thier screwed-up psyches can come up with.

And it's all the more impressive what with her being an unabashed Jack/Daniel shipper.

*jaw drops*

This is why good writers should be recced cross-shipping lines.

I remember "They're Mine." (See! I knew I'd read some good ones!) It's a lot more discreet than other OT3.

The older I get, the more I become a fan of multi-shipping. I mean, I like Sam/Jack and find it lovely and familar and comforting to read, but other ships are also fun and frequently amazingly well-written.

And I like her take on Sam NOT being this awful, awful harpy who keeps Jack and Daniel from realizing thier TWU WUV. One of her other het-fics, Actaeon is also a really good "Aliens Made Them Do It" fic which has this beautiful line about Sam reflecting on Daniel seeing this whole thing and understanding how he feels, loving Sha're and wanting Jack and not being able to reconcile these two things.

Well, these were all actually written *to be* cliche fic, so I'm not sure if it's what you're looking for, but you can find plenty of cliche fic here: http://community.livejournal.com/samjack4evah/

I love love love cliche fic written to be cliches. I'll have to scan through that community again.

The Blanket Scenario. For whatever reason (my favorite is to prevent hypothermia) two characters have to share a blanket. Works best when they hate each other, really. ^_^

Another good idea!

Gee...I wonder who you could have in mind...certainly not a princess and a scoundrel why try oh-so-hard to deny their true feelings...

:-)

And in SG-1 (not that you necessarily care), we see Sam/Jack, or Sam/Daniel/Teal'c (which morphs into OT4 later), or two characters who *like* each other. But where's the Sam/Rodney blanket fic? Now I really want some.

Hey, I will read any blanket scenario fic that comes my way. As long as it's in one of my fandoms. Call it junk food of the fanfiction world.

My first thought was, "Oh, I've always meant to write one of those." It wasn't until I read your comment *points up* that I remembered. Yeesh! Senility, I swear.

I can't help you much because I also neglect to bookmark stuff. But I think you should tackle stranded fic next. My favorite cliché omg.

Oooh, stranded fic. *loves* Seriously.

And isn't it funny how we forget what we've written? (I love that fic, btw. It's hilarious. Jack is such a whiner in it--and Teal'c is just so stoicly unamused.)

paian's Still Life With Cliche is a brilliant, brutal take on the possible realistic emotional impact of AMTDI, even on people who love each other and have some level of UST (Sam/Daniel, Jack/Daniel).

For a dose of restorative silliness,

resonant8's post on why Aliens only ever Make Them Do certain things is still funny, and led to

littera_abactor's marvellous SG1 riff on the cliche, which I will not spoil with commentary: The Art Of The Deal.

astolat's Objectives is a wonderful silly/warm take on it, with perfect, perfect character voices - I adore her Sam in particular (Jack/Daniel).

Um, here via friendsfriendlist, btw - hope that's okay.

Of course it is! I know I've seen you around, too.

Thanks for the Paian link. I...woah. Like...woah. (But then, that's what I say every time I read Paian. Makes me want to turn in my Sam/Jack shipper/het shipper card, some days. Most of the time just makes me want to huddle in a corner until I'm able to write fluff again.)

And the other two links? Genius! Especially...well, "performers."

*laughs her ass off*

Makes me want to turn in my Sam/Jack shipper/het shipper card, some days.

As I understand it, the Stargate fandom rules have been changed in the last few years and one is now allowed to carry multiple cards (fortunately, or I'd have lost all of mine by now ...)

I have a brand-new shiny Multishipper pass...but if you can have a special Sam/Jack OTP sticker on it? Yeah, that's me. ;-P

I wonder if all fandoms go through stages: The Honeymoon Stage, The Shipping Stage, the We-Just-Want-Good-Writers Stage, and the Good-Writers-Are-All-We-Have-Left Stage.

Sorry, I've been lurking. ;)

I wonder if all fandoms go through stages: The Honeymoon Stage, The Shipping Stage, the We-Just-Want-Good-Writers Stage, and the Good-Writers-Are-All-We-Have-Left Stage.

I just had to reply to this, because, well, it was just too. funny. And really, really accurate. Someone should do a meta on this. *nudge* ;)

*snorts again at the "We-Just-Want-Good-Writers-Stage"*