Jack/Sam Fic Recs

[starlover]

I'm assuming you're seeing ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) cadets on your campus, a 3rd way in which you can become an officer in the service. Are you certain they're Army on Thursdays? Or are they Air Force in BDU (Battle Dress Uniform like we saw in SG-1) or ABU (the new Airman Battle Uniform, the greyish thing). It's unusual to have two branches of ROTC on one campus. Usually you have just the one.

The fic you read was incorrect. Since this is OT, I'll spoiler the rest:

Spoiler:

The AFA (as with Annapolis, the Point, and the CGAcademy) are undergraduate universities. You attend directly out of high school (or by special appointment). If you extend your service contract you may continue for graduate and post-graduate degrees (in my fic Sam went to Oxford for her Master's and Doctorate - a real-life option for cadets...I really do research everything. Oh, and I got some terrific feedback on that fic from actual Academy grads, so I'm thrilled about that).

When you leave the Academy you have a BS (Bachelor of Science) in one of several career areas. Again...research is the key. Start here.

I did a ton of research on the Academy in high school and eventually turned down an unconditional appointment (oh, was my Gramma mad). I just the other day found that letter of offer in my files. Oh, the memories. I went a different route and still ended up an officer. Go figure.

Edit: Sorry if this is terse in tone, I'm doing several things at once and just realized this sounds a bit dictatorial. If so, I apologize. Feel free to ask me any questions on this stuff, I (obviously) love it. And all fic is better for more information used wisely.

Thanks for explaining everything!

I think the uniform I saw on campus(on Thursdays) was the ABU one. So that means that it was just the Air Force I saw? If so, that's really interesting to know, since I always saw the greyish uniform as an Army one and not Air Force. Sees how much I know about the Armed Forces.

Also what you said didn't sounded dictorial. It made perfect sense to me.

[Lilac736]

First part (unbolded)...oh, I'm so with you! I love, LOVE Neurpsych's "Campers" series, despite the premise being wildly improbable. My biggest nit with the fic (and I've corresponded with her about it) is the (to me) major gaffe of having Sean attend the Academy at age 16 (illegal because he is not able to sign the legally binding service contract) and nearly all things set at the Academy being incorrect (including the 6-week pre-term Plebe Summer, which was completely ignored).

Other issues with "Sam or {insert character name here} at the Academy" fics:
The Air Force Academy is not the University of the Air Force. It is not like any other four-year institution, save for Annapolis, West Point, the Coast Guard Academy or any other military academy. You don't get weekends free (especially Fourth Years (freshmen)), you don't get a boyfriend/girlfriend (except for very casual relationships...officially), you don't get to go home on weekends, you don't get to "sneak out at night," there are no dorm parties (well...anyway), etc. You get the idea. It's a military school.

Oh, and when you refer to the Academy, it gets a capital "A."

Ugh.

Oh, and the bolded bit: research, research, research. Do your research. I spend more time on research than I do on writing. If you research properly, and have a solid grasp of your characters, your characters will react naturally in your story to the setting you have build from your research.

Know your characters' environment/job/city/country. That's vital to good fic.

Sorry, this is a huge thing for me in establishing what makes good fic.

I’m one hundred percent with you. I’m the worst nitpicker, ever. I really wish I could overlook things, but I hate it when otherwise well written stories are ruined by unnecessary mistakes. Things like technology that was not yet invented at the time the story takes place, or songs that were released years later, are driving me mad. What’s even more annoying, some errors could easily be avoided with just a few minutes research on the internet. I’m not sure what the policy with the spelling of alien names is, but I don’t know how many different versions of “za'tarc” I have seen so far. And please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought its court-martial and not court-marshal.

[Pol]

And two officers will face courtS-martial (two). Not court-martials.

[Akamaimom]

I’m one hundred percent with you. I’m the worst nitpicker, ever. I really wish I could overlook things, but I hate it when otherwise well written stories are ruined by unnecessary mistakes. Things like technology that was not yet invented at the time the story takes place, or songs that were released years later, are driving me mad. What’s even more annoying, some errors could easily be avoided with just a few minutes research on the internet. I’m not sure what the policy with the spelling of alien names is, but I don’t know how many different versions of “za'tarc” I have seen so far. And please correct me if I’m wrong, but I thought its court-martial and not court-marshal.

Guilty! I did both of these things in my first fic. In my defense, it was my first one, and I was so nervous about writing it in the first place that researching didn't even occur to me. Of course, now I try to be as exact as I can be with all the little details. But sometimes there are things that are going to slip through. I am much more forgiving about those things if the grammar and punctuation is up to par, and if the writing itself is decent.

As to the pregnancy/childbirth thing, all I can do is write from experience that I've had, or that of my friends. And just because someone is in peak condition doesn't mean that they're going to sail through the birth experience. My cousin is a marathon runner with perfect blood pressure and she died on the delivery table from complications due to HELLP syndrome. Luckily, they were able to bring her back. You never know.

[leiasky]

And two officers will face courtS-martial (two). Not court-martials.

I seriously love it when you post about the military!

You'll enjoy ripping apart the AF stuff in the script I sent you At least I knew to send it to an authority! LOL!

[Nynaeve506]

And two officers will face courtS-martial (two). Not court-martials.

Good to know! I'd never thought about it Of course, S/J ending up with courts-martial would be highly unlikely which is probably I never have

When I have a question about the USAF I call my dad

[MidwifeOnBoard]

Guilty! I did both of these things in my first fic. In my defense, it was my first one, and I was so nervous about writing it in the first place that researching didn't even occur to me. Of course, now I try to be as exact as I can be with all the little details. But sometimes there are things that are going to slip through. I am much more forgiving about those things if the grammar and punctuation is up to par, and if the writing itself is decent.

As to the pregnancy/childbirth thing, all I can do is write from experience that I've had, or that of my friends. And just because someone is in peak condition doesn't mean that they're going to sail through the birth experience. My cousin is a marathon runner with perfect blood pressure and she died on the delivery table from complications due to HELLP syndrome. Luckily, they were able to bring her back. You never know.

You know I wasn't referring to you, don't you? I don't think I've read any of your pregnancy fics, TBH. And while things like what happened to your cousin do happen, and are terrifying, they are extraordinarily rare. And, like I said, I have no issues with good pregnancy fic-- even when things are somewhat off-- it's the number of truly awful pregnancy fics out there is starting to astonish me. Especially given the number of fic writers who have been pregnant and given birth!

ETA: This goes for novelists too! One of my favorite romance writers went to medical school, IIRC, and wrote the most ridiculous birth scenario I'd ever read. And another favorite author of mine, in her latest novel, ended it with a character hemorrhaging to death during a birth, at the end of the novel. And the midwife just sat there and let it happen. Granted, it took place in 1870s English-occupied India... but it still p*$$3d me off to no end.

[Gatetrixer]

I'm assuming you're seeing ROTC (Reserve Officer Training Corps) cadets on your campus, a 3rd way in which you can become an officer in the service. Are you certain they're Army on Thursdays? Or are they Air Force in BDU (Battle Dress Uniform like we saw in SG-1) or ABU (the new Airman Battle Uniform, the greyish thing). It's unusual to have two branches of ROTC on one campus. Usually you have just the one.

The fic you read was incorrect. Since this is OT, I'll spoiler the rest:

Spoiler:

The AFA (as with Annapolis, the Point, and the CGAcademy) are undergraduate universities. You attend directly out of high school (or by special appointment). If you extend your service contract you may continue for graduate and post-graduate degrees (in my fic Sam went to Oxford for her Master's and Doctorate - a real-life option for cadets...I really do research everything. Oh, and I got some terrific feedback on that fic from actual Academy grads, so I'm thrilled about that).

When you leave the Academy you have a BS (Bachelor of Science) in one of several career areas. Again...research is the key. Start here.

I did a ton of research on the Academy in high school and eventually turned down an unconditional appointment (oh, was my Gramma mad). I just the other day found that letter of offer in my files. Oh, the memories. I went a different route and still ended up an officer. Go figure.

Edit: Sorry if this is terse in tone, I'm doing several things at once and just realized this sounds a bit dictatorial. If so, I apologize. Feel free to ask me any questions on this stuff, I (obviously) love it. And all fic is better for more information used wisely.

Thanks for explaining everything!

I think the uniform I saw on campus(on Thursdays) was the ABU one. So that means that it was just the Air Force I saw? If so, that's really interesting to know, since I always saw the greyish uniform as an Army one and not Air Force. Sees how much I know about the Armed Forces.

Also what you said didn't sounded dictorial. It made perfect sense to me.

There were both Air Force and Army ROTC on campus in my college days, but I won't tell you how long ago that was, and assume it's probably changed. I also have read and think it is so that, as far as the Academies go, that a student at a regular university or college, can be appointed to one of the Academies, but doesn't enter like a regular transfer student, but starts over as a first year student at the Academy.

One thing that bugs me in fan fic is the writer not realizing the distance between Colorado Springs and the cabin in Northern Minnesota. ( And some put mountains up there). Most do a good job with this, but a few make out like it's short hop. I enjoy the ones writing about the long drive and stops along the way, because I can relate to them. I blame the Season 10 episode The Uninvited as fuzzy-ing up the distance and location and a few other things. It's been a while since I watched it but I remember complaining about it at the time.

[Akamaimom]

You know I wasn't referring to you, don't you? I don't think I've read any of your pregnancy fics, TBH. And while things like what happened to your cousin do happen, and are terrifying, they are extraordinarily rare. And, like I said, I have no issues with good pregnancy fic-- even when things are somewhat off-- it's the number of truly awful pregnancy fics out there is starting to astonish me. Especially given the number of fic writers who have been pregnant and given birth!

ETA: This goes for novelists too! One of my favorite romance writers went to medical school, IIRC, and wrote the most ridiculous birth scenario I'd ever read. And another favorite author of mine, in her latest novel, ended it with a character hemorrhaging to death during a birth, at the end of the novel. And the midwife just sat there and let it happen. Granted, it took place in 1870s English-occupied India... but it still p*$$3d me off to no end.

I do know that. I've been surprised, though, at how many complications I have witnessed and seen around me. I don't know if it's just that I'm at that age (that people have babies) or what, but I've seen too many people have complications lately. We take the whole process for granted, sometimes, and assume that things will be just fine, when it sometimes doesn't work that way. I agree that most women will have "normal" pregnancies and deliveries--but I'm one of those who has run the gamut. Obstetricians cringe when they see my history.

Spoiler:

I haven't written many pregnancy fic. But I try to be very realistic and not sugar coat things. I was called out once by a police officer when I made Sam enjoy shooting targets while she's pregnant, something that I did throughout some of my pregnancies with no problems. Apparently, it's not a good idea. Something about the lead. Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have loaded so many of my own rounds while I was pregnant, either. So, even when you think you know things, there are always things you don't know.

When I (sort of) wrote the delivery of Sam/Jack's baby, I didn't even try to explain the complications that arose. I totally glossed that over because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get it clinically correct. All I know is that it happened to me at one point, and so I wrote my own experience.

As for people who have given birth and then written unbelievable birth fic, I can't explain that. Wow. Maybe they have amnesia? Who knows? I've given birth 6 times (with five live births) and each one has been incredibly different. I've gone from hour-long labors and easy deliveries, to one that was "sunny side up" and difficult, to my C-Section. The one time that my water broke before I was already through transition was when I raced to the hospital only to sit there for eight hours without a single contraction. I watched two baseball games in the L and D room.

I haven't read many pregnancy fics--but I HATE watching birthing scenes on TV. Even in SG-1--when Sha're has her baby it irked me and she's screaming. Of course, I've been next door to people who have been laboring in L and D wards and it bugs me when they're screeching and whining, too--but that's just me. I think, "What's the point of all of that? Just buckle down and get it done, sister." I would make a really lousy nurse. And then there are the ones where the husband is lovingly wiping his wife's face and whispering sweet nothings to his beloved wife during delivery. I can't stand the sight/smell/sound of my spouse when I'm in labor. He knows better than to touch me. He actually was watching the two man bobsled in the 2002 Olympics when my #3 was born, way over on the other side of the room. Right where I wanted him.

If the writing is good, and obeys at least the majority of the laws deemed useful by the Gods of Grammar, then I can take a few hiccups in the believability department. But I'm going to write as honestly as I can, while still making it achieve its purpose. I purposefully don't write some things--specifically because I don't know anything about them.

Wow. That was a long ramble about not much. Suffice it to say that I'm agreeing.

[MidwifeOnBoard]

I do know that. I've been surprised, though, at how many complications I have witnessed and seen around me. I don't know if it's just that I'm at that age (that people have babies) or what, but I've seen too many people have complications lately. We take the whole process for granted, sometimes, and assume that things will be just fine, when it sometimes doesn't work that way. I agree that most women will have "normal" pregnancies and deliveries--but I'm one of those who has run the gamut. Obstetricians cringe when they see my history.

Spoiler:

I haven't written many pregnancy fic. But I try to be very realistic and not sugar coat things. I was called out once by a police officer when I made Sam enjoy shooting targets while she's pregnant, something that I did throughout some of my pregnancies with no problems. Apparently, it's not a good idea. Something about the lead. Had I known that, I probably wouldn't have loaded so many of my own rounds while I was pregnant, either. So, even when you think you know things, there are always things you don't know.

When I (sort of) wrote the delivery of Sam/Jack's baby, I didn't even try to explain the complications that arose. I totally glossed that over because I knew that I wouldn't be able to get it clinically correct. All I know is that it happened to me at one point, and so I wrote my own experience.

As for people who have given birth and then written unbelievable birth fic, I can't explain that. Wow. Maybe they have amnesia? Who knows? I've given birth 6 times (with five live births) and each one has been incredibly different. I've gone from hour-long labors and easy deliveries, to one that was "sunny side up" and difficult, to my C-Section. The one time that my water broke before I was already through transition was when I raced to the hospital only to sit there for eight hours without a single contraction. I watched two baseball games in the L and D room.

I haven't read many pregnancy fics--but I HATE watching birthing scenes on TV. Even in SG-1--when Sha're has her baby it irked me and she's screaming. Of course, I've been next door to people who have been laboring in L and D wards and it bugs me when they're screeching and whining, too--but that's just me. I think, "What's the point of all of that? Just buckle down and get it done, sister." I would make a really lousy nurse. And then there are the ones where the husband is lovingly wiping his wife's face and whispering sweet nothings to his beloved wife during delivery. I can't stand the sight/smell/sound of my spouse when I'm in labor. He knows better than to touch me. He actually was watching the two man bobsled in the 2002 Olympics when my #3 was born, way over on the other side of the room. Right where I wanted him.

If the writing is good, and obeys at least the majority of the laws deemed useful by the Gods of Grammar, then I can take a few hiccups in the believability department. But I'm going to write as honestly as I can, while still making it achieve its purpose. I purposefully don't write some things--specifically because I don't know anything about them.

Wow. That was a long ramble about not much. Suffice it to say that I'm agreeing.

I just wanted to be sure you knew I wasn't targeting you. Glad to know you were on board. I'd love to chat more with you about birth! Probably elsewhere would be more appropriate so as not to bore all the other S/J lovers who could care less. I've pretty much seen it all in the last 5 years, birth-wise, and I have a lot of opinions on contributing factors. So, back to your regularly scheduled fic-recs, yall.

Oh, and:

[Nynaeve506]

One thing that bugs me in fan fic is the writer not realizing the distance between Colorado Springs and the cabin in Northern Minnesota. ( And some put mountains up there). Most do a good job with this, but a few make out like it's short hop. I enjoy the ones writing about the long drive and stops along the way, because I can relate to them. I blame the Season 10 episode The Uninvited as fuzzy-ing up the distance and location and a few other things. It's been a while since I watched it but I remember complaining about it at the time.

I live in Minnesota and the number of people who get this wrong...well it's astonishing really My parents live in Arkansas and that's a good 16 hours. Most cabins, especially if you want something as isolated as Jack's, are going to be two to three hours north of the cities (I surreptitiously quizzed one of the guys in my office who does regular fishing - which is as big a deal around here as Jack makes it...).

As Pol said, research, research, research. This is a hiccup that could easily be solved by Google maps. Take Colorado Springs and pick a location on the North Shore and then BAM...time Or solve your problem by having them fly into MSP and rent a truck/car/etc or Jack keeps a truck with an old buddy or fam or something.

Does anyone else struggle with fics about Jack's family? Realistically he has to have a backstory...I just always struggle with what it is because it always sounds so false when he talks about it in fandom.

[majorsal]

how about more fic recs and less chatting?

[leiasky]

Does anyone else struggle with fics about Jack's family? Realistically he has to have a backstory...I just always struggle with what it is because it always sounds so false when he talks about it in fandom.

I'm too much of a purist to go there. A passing mention is easy to include in a story but fully fleshing out and giving names to various relatives? Meh. I'm not interested.

http://sjhw-tolerance.livejournal.com/400887.html - Next Year all our Troubles will be out of Sight - 2010 AU fic and not a happy ending.

http://ami-ven.livejournal.com/143314.html - Best laid Plans - Jack makes sure a busy Sam has a Christmas to remember. Sam is commander of the Hammond here.

[Skydiver]

I live in Minnesota and the number of people who get this wrong...well it's astonishing really My parents live in Arkansas and that's a good 16 hours. Most cabins, especially if you want something as isolated as Jack's, are going to be two to three hours north of the cities (I surreptitiously quizzed one of the guys in my office who does regular fishing - which is as big a deal around here as Jack makes it...).

As Pol said, research, research, research. This is a hiccup that could easily be solved by Google maps. Take Colorado Springs and pick a location on the North Shore and then BAM...time Or solve your problem by having them fly into MSP and rent a truck/car/etc or Jack keeps a truck with an old buddy or fam or something.

Does anyone else struggle with fics about Jack's family? Realistically he has to have a backstory...I just always struggle with what it is because it always sounds so false when he talks about it in fandom.

and even the show can't get it right. such as smoke and mirrors, jack has no alibi because he's driving back from his cabin....well it's a 18 hour drive or so, so two days, and even if he has dual tanks in his truck, he still had to stop for gas 2-3 times which he had to put on a credit card (unless he routinely carries about 1,000 in cash) and there's video surveillance at gas stations and occasionally road cameras....my point? there's no way he made that drive and no one witnessed it. (and this isn't even bringing in if he had onstar or such in his truck)

so, while fans get it wrong, the writers of the show often do too.

[iiradned]

Looking for an older S/J fic. It starts with SG1 on a mission and they're under attack. Jack hurts his knee, and after they go back he has surgery but he can't go back to active duty so he retires. At the retirement party he and Sam hook up. I don't remember what happens in the meantime, but a while later the have a daughter and Jacob is teasing Jack about the times when she grows up and she starts dating.
Then I'm not sure if it was an epilogue or a separate story, 20 years later S/J's daughter (forgot her name, might have been Stella) is all grown up, an AF cadet and with a group of other cadets (including her boyfriend) she visits the SGC for some training, they go to the Alpha site, the guys are giving the boyfriend a hard time etc. I read it either on ff.net or on the novel site. Ring any bells?

Stella was a sequel story.

The stories you are looking for are: Unbalanced and Growing Up by Airam4u