Title: Vala Alphabet Soup
Author's LJ/DWJ: n/a
Categories: valuable Vala, ep related, character study, friendship, humor, angst, drama, pre-series, post-series
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: n/a
Link to story: Vala Alphabet Soup

Why this should be read: It might be cheating a little to rec the Soup as a whole, especially since I organize the Soups and have actually written one of the fics. :) But here's a chance to read twenty-six great Vala fics at once, by 25 different authors! These are funny and painful and insightful and fluffy and thoughtful in turns, and you'll enjoy every last one of them. Don't forget to follow the links to the authors' individual journals and leave them feedback!

Title: Bonded
Author's LJ/DWJ: tallulah_rasa
Categories: character: daniel jackson, character: jack o'neill, character: jacob carter, character: samantha carter, character: teal'c, era: season 1-2, humor, team, theme: dangerous daniel, theme: tok'ra
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Stargate SG-1 Stories
Link to story: Bonded
Why this should be read: Bad things happen if you leave Daniel at home. Very, very bad things.

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Title: Meetings
Author's LJ/DWJ: kay_brooke
Categories: team, humor, crossover
Warnings: crossover with Doctor Who
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fanfic Master List
Link to story: Meetings

Why this should be read: Another fun Doctor Who crossover (this from the woman who has never seen a single ep of any incarnation of Doctor Who, ever) as Ten and Martha meet Cam's SG-1 off-world. Stellar characterization with a few deft exchanges of dialogue will leave you grinning and wishing for more!


“It was the NID, wasn’t it?”

“No,” said Martha, wondering what the NID was. “Judoon. Mercenary space rhinos,” she clarified when Daniel looked at her questioningly.

“Oh,” said Daniel. “Space rhinos. Of course.”

Title: A Jaffa, an archaeologist, and two Air Force officers walk into a library…
Author's LJ/DWJ: wishfulaces
Categories: team, humor, crossover
Warnings: crossover with Doctor Who
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Aces at AO3
Link to story: A Jaffa, an archaeologist, and two Air Force officers walk into a library…

Why this should be read: This is nothing short of gleeful: fanboy!Doctor Who meets SG-1 and saves a library!

Oh, c'mon, you can't resist reading that... :)


The guy wearing glasses was the only one not pointing a weapon at them. “Guys?” he said, raising a finger. “I’m pretty sure the bad guys don’t normally wear bowties.”

“No,” said the Doctor, fingering his bowtie, “bad guys are not cool enough to wear bowties.”

“Why, Daniel,” muttered the older white man in the baseball cap, “I think you just found yourself a twin.”

Title: And Can I Interest You in Some Fine Lakeside Property on P3L-997?
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: nandamai / nandamai
Categories: character: Daniel, character: Jack, character: Sam, character: Teal'c, humor, team
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Nanda's Lament
Link to story: And Can I Interest You in Some Fine Lakeside Property on P3L-997?
Why this should be read: Meanwhile, back on Earth in the future, nature has put a similar damper on Jack's retirement celebration. It's perfect anyway.

About 280 words.

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Title: Not Just a Job
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: cofax7 | cofax
Categories: character: Daniel, character: Jack, character: Sam, character: Teal'c, humor, team
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Alchemy, Mouldiwarps, and Coprophagy
Link to story: Not Just a Job (AO3) | Not Just a Job (author's website)
Why this should be read: Serving on a gate team is an awesome job that has its moments of wonder and its moments of pain and its moments of triumph. This 237-word fic adds 'and its moments of wry humor.'

Snippet of fic:

Life in the SGC is a never-ending adventure, Daniel decides. See the universe! Meet new peoples! Save the world!

Title: Brain Bugs
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: thassalia
Categories: angst, humor, character: Cam, character: Daniel, character: Sam, character: Teal'c, era: Season 9-10
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fic tag at LJ
Link to story: Brain Bugs
Why this should be read: For movie night in the aftermath of 'The Scourge,' the team watches Starship Troopers. Unsurprisingly, and not all on account of the film, the tone of the evening shifts from bantery decompression to serious review of the choices they made on the mission. The cute parts of the fic are very cute, the discussion (and the fic-as-meta) is thought-provoking, and the characterization and Cam point-of-view hit just the right notes.

About 1500 words.

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Title: the earth below us was dancing with lights
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: wishfulaces | aces
Categories: character: Daniel, character: Jack, character: Sam, character: Teal'c, team
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fic tag | SG-1 works list at AO3
Link to story: the earth below us was dancing with lights
Why this should be read: A natural event of otherworldly beauty, appreciated by the team with a good plausible dose of 'this is just really pretty, right, not really pretty and also about to kill us?' caution that adds to the enjoyment. I especially like the meta-ey sidebars: Carter noting the difference between a scientific description and aesthetic appreciation, and Daniel choosing not to videotape, because recording a thing can detract from the actual experience of it, and this is an experience worth savoring directly, fully in the moment.

630 words.

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Title: A Resonant Transliteration
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: jenlev
Categories: character study, character: Daniel Jackson
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Stories
Link to story: A Resonant Transliteration
Why this should be read: A beautiful study of Daniel as the team goes through the gate to explore a planet they haven't been to before. This fic is a sense-of-wonder refresher: a celebration of how fundamentally marvelous gate travel is. It's also a gift to Daniel, who is musing, as the story opens in the embarkation room, that it's been a long time since they met a truly alien race. The fertile Daniel headspace, rich with associations, is portrayed in loving detail. Through Daniel's perceptions and deductions, so is what they find in the new ancient world they step into.

About 1200 words.

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Title: The Cat Came Back (Again)
Author's LJ/DWJ: thothmes & bethinexile
Categories: character: daniel jackson, character: jack o'neill, character: samantha carter, character: teal'c, character: vala mal doran, character: cameron mitchell, crackfic, era: post-series, team
Warnings: nonpermanent character death
Author's Webpage/Fic list: fic tag @ thothmes & fic tag @ bethinexile
Link to story: The Cat Came Back (Again)

Why this should be read: Daniel Jackson. Is. A. Cat. A cat that can walk through coffee tables and pounce through lit candles. A cat who brings home mice that don't exactly exist. Those damn Ancients and their sense of ... is it humor or justice?

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Title: Chance
Author's LJ/DWJ:  mitai 
Categories: Sam, team, action/adventure, hurt/comfort, things that go *boom*, possibly super sam
Warnings: major whump, some violence
Author's Webpage/Fic list: N/A
Link to story: Chance
Why this should be read:
Chance is a very satisfying action fic, that picks up just as an off-world mission goes horribly wrong. SG-1 is separated and outnumbered, but it's up to them to stop a fanatic group from taking control of the planet. We get to see awesome Sam, snarky Daniel, and some black-ops Jack. Also, their prophecies say that Teal'c is an angel of God.

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Title: Between Two Waves of the Sea
Author's LJ/DWJ: stringertheory
Categories: angst, AU, character study, character: Daniel, character: Jack, character: Sam, character: Teal'c, drama, team, theme: quantum mirror
Warnings: None
Author's Webpage/Fic list: Fic list
Link to story: Between Two Waves of the Sea
Why this should be read: A thoughtful, lyrical ensemble piece in which the could-have-beens ghost across the gaps between quantum realities, brush the characters like soft breaths, and die away.

908 words.

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Title: Rascals
Author's LJ/DWJ: roeskva 
Categories: kidfic, humour
Warnings: none
Author's Webpage/Fic list: www.fanfiction.net/u/1406535/Roeskva
Link to story: Rascals
Why this should be read: Normally I don't read kidfic, but while this does follow the usual trope of  'alien device turns person into kid', the story is not quite like the others. This is the first one I have read that turns Tok'ra into kids - and not just the hosts. It's hilarious to see them not only behave as children, but also children who knows very little about Earth and its customs. I really enjoyed poor Jack O'Neill and Teal'c as they try to carry out the mission Hammond gives them - babysit their two team mates along with the three Tok'ra who are all now 6 years old!

 

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Title: Zephyr
Author's LJ/DWJ/AO3: gabolange / gabolange / gabolange
Categories: character study, character: cam, character: daniel, character: jack, character: sam, character: teal'c, character: vala, era: futurefic, team, theme: super sam
Warnings: Secondary-character death
Author's Webpage/Fic list: nextnonsequitur
Link to story: Zephyr
Why this should be read: Set about ten years in the future, when Sam is the general in command of the SGC and the Stargate Program has just gone public, this lovely, pensive fic is a combination of turning-outward (Sam wrestling with the demands of presenting the Program to the world accurately and sympathetically via the unruly media) and turning-inward (the team, coming back together to mourn the passing of a longtime comrade, closing in tight on itself). Outstanding Sam characterization, plausible and poignant extrapolation, 2431 words.

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Title: Structural Integrity
Author's LJ/DWJ: etrangerici
Categories: episode related, theme: Jack friendship, angst, character study, team
Warnings: none
Author's Website: unknown
Link to story: Structural Integrity

Why This Must Be Read: Just when you think there can't be possibly be yet another good episode tag for Shades of Grey, you discover an absolute gem like this one, in which a heavy-hearted Jack thinks he's lost his team and their friendship... and discovers that he hasn't.

Stellar Jack POV and characterization lend an extra degree of impact to etrangerici's story. Teal'c is a stunning bulwark, both figuratively and literally. Sam uses her military knowledge to comprehend Jack's choices. And Daniel - watching Jack watch Daniel slowly talk his way into understanding will move you nearly to tears.

Lovely, lovely teamy goodness. This one is just plain fantastic.


He finally felt that he was solid on his foundations once more. Because they were his team. And they weren't letting go.