All fic is AU. Discuss.

[s09119]

Many authors would argue that the way they write the canon characters is completely believable even if it was not shown on screen. I tend to think that any fiction written by a non-sanctioned author is AU. Some AU may be very close to canon, but it's still AU. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Agreed. My fiction changes a few episodes' plots, so it's technically AU from canon, but I don't think that's bad at all. In fact, I think it's better for writers to toss out things they find TPTB did that were silly rather than shoehorn in reasoning for (IMHO) bad ideas they had.

[SF_and_Coffee]

Agreed. My fiction changes a few episodes' plots, so it's technically AU from canon, but I don't think that's bad at all. In fact, I think it's better for writers to toss out things they find TPTB did that were silly rather than shoehorn in reasoning for (IMHO) bad ideas they had.

Exactly. I know damn well I'm writing in an AU. Heck, I planned it that way. Beats making myself crazy trying to work with what I thought were some of the dumber things that got added into the canon later on, after the season where my AU diverges.

[Kunoichi]

Many authors would argue that the way they write the canon characters is completely believable even if it was not shown on screen. I tend to think that any fiction written by a non-sanctioned author is AU. Some AU may be very close to canon, but it's still AU. But that's not necessarily a bad thing.

Agreed. Just because something is AU doesn't make it bad or against the spirit of the show. I've read some excellent fic that completely disregards stuff that has happened on the show. I suppose my problem comes with fic that is so different from the show (unbelievable characters etc) that I wonder why the fic is listed under 'stargate'.

[Aragon101]

Canon is limiting.

if you write something which the character never experienced in the show, how do you write THAT in a Canon way? You can't.

AU is not bad or evil or 'the easy way out'. It all depends on the quality of the work itself and whether the reactions and actions of hte characters/situations is reasonable and believable in the context of the story.

[mathpiglet]

I agree with both of you. However, I have read some fics in which the character behaves in a totally unbelievable way and had the author try to convince me it was possible. I suggested they find a character closer to the type of person they want, or if no such canon character exists, then make one up!

[SF_and_Coffee]

Yep, that's the beauty of working with OCs. You can make them be almost any way you want them to be.

[mathpiglet]

Absolutely. Don't try to turn a lion into a lamb.

[Kunoichi]

I agree with both of you. However, I have read some fics in which the character behaves in a totally unbelievable way and had the author try to convince me it was possible. I suggested they find a character closer to the type of person they want, or if no such canon character exists, then make one up!

I think this is where it becomes complicated. I've read fics where a character behaves out of character but is believable because of the set up of the story, but I've also read fics where the canon character is so unbelievable that you wonder if you watch the same program as the author, and there is no justification within the story for why this character is behaving the way they are.

I think sometimes there are issues of authors not liking a canon character so much that they try to change that character into the person they want them to be, not what they see on the tv. I kind of think that if you don't like a character that much, then don't write them in your fic or make up a reason why they are not featured and write an OC for the role you want.

[mathpiglet]

snip
I think sometimes there are issues of authors not liking a canon character so much that they try to change that character into the person they want them to be, not what they see on the tv. I kind of think that if you don't like a character that much, then don't write them in your fic or make up a reason why they are not featured and write an OC for the role you want.

That's brilliant! I had not thought of that.

[Aragon101]

That's brilliant! I had not thought of that.

I see it alot in SG, and i've often found people who try to impose their own version of certain characters (particularly Sam) on me andsay my writing is OOC. In Apostle's Message, i have her using alien technology to help defend against a potential invasion of Earth which leaves her with a permanantly fried nervous system. (don't worry, she gets better) but in the meantime, she's lost Jack who's still frozen, Bra'tac is gone, Teal'c is in quiet warrior mode and no help, so she only has Daniel who's trying to help but also kinda getting in her way since she's too stubborn to hang back if there's an emergency even if she's unwell. She's pretty much on her own and having to go into 'soldier sam' mode to survive. Makes sense to me, but... Apparantly this is 'laughably' out of character. I do have her swear at one point (Another character is shocked that she does) so maybe its that but i have to wonder.

[SF_and_Coffee]

I can completely imagine Sam in "soldier Sam" mode, swearing and all. The woman's an Air Force officer, for heaven's sake. Not only that, but she's also the daughter of one. She's seen it, she's heard it, and I'm pretty damn sure she's done it. Remember, she tells us right off the bat in Children of the Gods that she logged over 100 hours in enemy airspace during the first Gulf War. You don't do something like that and remain any sort of an innocent, even if you'd been one going in, which you almost certainly wouldn't be. So no, trust me, this would absolutely NOT be out of character for her.

ETA: that's the beauty of fanfiction. On the show, especially once it was no longer on Showtime, they really couldn't include the amount of foul language that would almost certainly be a part of everyday life in a military unit under the kinds of extreme stress caused by being on the front line of human interaction with a wider and highly dangerous universe. In fic, we as authors have more or less free rein to de-sanitize the speech patterns of the characters to whatever extent seems reasonable for people in their positions. I know that in my fic, Jack has a bit of a potty mouth, and so does his buddy Frank. It shows in their internal self-talk all the time, and on occasion they say it out loud. Sam does as well, although she too is more likely to think it than to voice it aloud. But sometimes she does. As for Teal'c, we all know the Jaffa swear; they just don't do it in English. And someone like Daniel would have knowledge of more cuss words than all the rest of the SGC put together.

(I'm the daughter of a Navy veteran, the relative of several more, and I have my share of ex-boyfriends who were in the Air Force, as well as many friends who are former military. If I had a dollar for every piece of colorful language I've ever heard out of current and former military mouths, I'd be a wealthy woman!)

[thekillman]

I can completely imagine Sam in "soldier Sam" mode, swearing and all. The woman's an Air Force officer, for heaven's sake. Not only that, but she's also the daughter of one. She's seen it, she's heard it, and I'm pretty damn sure she's done it. Remember, she tells us right off the bat in Children of the Gods that she logged over 100 hours in enemy airspace during the first Gulf War. You don't do something like that and remain any sort of an innocent, even if you'd been one going in, which you almost certainly wouldn't be. So no, trust me, this would absolutely NOT be out of character for her.

in pretty much every Jack-era episode, it's the Jack/Sam combo that goes all military (aided by teal'c) and Daniel just hangs back and doesn't get hurt. granted he does fire, but the majority of the fighting is done by that trio.


Sam more recently focuses on technology since Vala and Mitchell can fight just fine, but Sam remains Air Force so she can definitely stand her own.

that's the beauty of fanfiction. On the show, especially once it was no longer on Showtime, they really couldn't include the amount of foul language that would almost certainly be a part of everyday life in a military unit under the kinds of extreme stress caused by being on the front line of human interaction with a wider and highly dangerous universe

it's a simple effect i even notice in songs. here in the netherlands we don't really believe in censoring unless it's absolutely insulting. we have Cee Lo Green perform his "**** you" song (known as "forget you" in most countries) on TV, Live, in front of 3 million people watching. because we can.

similarly swear words aren't filtered out on radio. well a few channels do. but i always laugh really hard when they do.


swearing is part of life. in fact, when people swear they feel less pain. it's proven.


anyway, yes fic is AU but why would it be any less important? Stargate has set up it's Multiverse quite nicely, so while the Main Universe is the only universe of concern to Stargate the show, that doesn't mean others can be of concern to us.

most fics deviate from the Main Story at the point they start, which means that the people they write about are still the people we know and love.

[SF_and_Coffee]

yes fic is AU but why would it be any less important? Stargate has set up it's Multiverse quite nicely, so while the Main Universe is the only universe of concern to Stargate the show, that doesn't mean others can be of concern to us.

most fics deviate from the Main Story at the point they start, which means that the people they write about are still the people we know and love.

Exactly true, I think. Not to mention that Stargate was one of those franchises that invited its audience to 'play along' and use their own imagination. In fact, it was often required to make the show work. So if some of us are still using our imaginations with regard to it, that shouldn't be any big surprise.

[thekillman]

Exactly true, I think. Not to mention that Stargate was one of those franchises that invited its audience to 'play along' and use their own imagination. In fact, it was often required to make the show work. So if some of us are still using our imaginations with regard to it, that shouldn't be any big surprise

true.
Stargate over it's run has created like, what, a dozen different universes? including multiple timelines.