ext_289147 (![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png)
briarwood.livejournal.com) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
crack_van2006-04-02 07:38 am
briarwood.livejournal.com) wrote in crack_van2006-04-02 07:38 am
Entry tags:
Beware Goa'ulds Bearing Gifts by Pink Rabbit Productions (PG13)
Hi, I'm ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
morgan32 and I'll be reccing for Stargate SG-1 this month. I like well-plotted stories with a sense of humour and good characterisation. I'm planning to rec stories in a range of genres, but I'm going to concentrate on fics that focus on the women characters, because looking through the archives those have been somewhat neglected by the van.
Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Sam/Janet (friendship)
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Pink Rabbit Productions
Why this must be read: Beware Goa'ulds Bearing gifts is the seventh story in Pink Rabbit's "Bits and Pieces" series. The series is based around the Stargate season one episodes, which means that although there is an ongoing storyline which charts the (very) slow development of a romantic relationship between Sam and Janet, it's possible to read most of the fics in the series as stand-alones. Pink Rabbit's SGC is a world where men are men, with all their faults and quirks as well as undeniable heroism, and where women are smart, strong and sexy.
Beware Goa'ulds Bearing Gifts is a postscript to the episode Hathor, and I recommend it for that alone: a Hathor fic that's not all about Daniel is a pearl beyond price. Without neglecting the male characters, Pink Rabbit's story is describes the consequences of Hathor's takeover for the women. Though Hathor has escaped the SGC, her power over the men on the base is not as gone as everyone thinks. Remember how the women used their feminine charms to escape the cell? Their ruse involved Janet kissing one young Airman. Inspired by that one kiss, the Airman develops a crush on Janet, which soon turns into a dangerous obsession.
***
Thinking Carter had come back for something, she looked up. "Sam, I--- Oh, Airman Phillips--" she exhaled when she saw the tall figure looming over her table.
"It's Tony, Ma'am," he corrected her and sank down into the seat Sam had vacated.
A subtle frown sketched its way across Fraiser's brow and she straightened her shoulders, her tone automatically becoming more formal. "How can I help you, Airman?" she asked, pointedly ignoring his invitation to use his first name.
He flushed, but didn't argue, just held out his hand, presenting her with a piece of notepaper she'd been using as a bookmark. "I think you dropped this, Ma'am," he said softly, eyes darkening as he purposely stroked her palm with the very tips of his fingers.
Janet yanked her hand back a little more quickly that was strictly necessary and tried to cover the instinctive response by staring down at the sheet as though reading the jotted notes written on one side in her scrawling hand.
"I thought it might be important," he said softly.
She looked up, reacting to his confident half-smile with a stiff look. "Not really," she said as she tucked the paper back into the journal, then snapped it shut. "But thank you." She carefully laid her fork back on the tray. "If that's all, I need to get back to work." Her tone didn't invite confidences.
"Well, actually, Ma'am," he began as she started to rise, leaving her little choice but to sink back down, "I was wondering if you'd reconsider letting me buy you that beer?" There was an unfamiliar edge of pushiness she couldn't remember from the times she'd encountered him before Hathor's arrival, but it wasn't like she'd spent much time around the guy. "I
could drive us over to Delvecchio's or Mike's ... or if there's someplace else you'd prefer, that's cool too. Actually, that might be even better. We could go after your current shift." He smiled as though they were chatting over a drink in a singles bar, seemingly confident she'd be bowled over by his charms.
***
This story is a strongly characterised piece, and though there is an underlying sexual tension between Sam and Janet the story is essentially gen. The plot is original and exciting and deals with a frightening subject in a way that will resonate with most women readers. But it's not just a thriller. Pink Rabbit writes with a sense of humour that is sometimes gentle and sometimes wicked, but always very funny.
Whether you like femslash or not, I recommend everyone read this for the wrestling scene. Janet is ordered to take a refresher course in self-defence - from Teal'c. And Pink Rabbit has Teal'c's voice down perfectly, as well as his early confusion with the ways of Earth:
***
A tiny sigh escaped the Jaffa's lips, another sign that she was really bugging the hell out of him, Janet realized in a rush, finding it oddly fascinating to hunt for the infinitesimally small cues to the big man's mood. "Doctor," he began after a moment of thought, "you will learn nothing of self-defense lying on the floor."
"I won't learn anything if I get up either," Janet pointed out, her tone logical, "and I'll wind up back down here anyway. Consider this cutting out the middle man." That got another sigh from the big man, and even a faint ticking of one eyebrow. She really was getting to him, Janet realized, fascinated by this new game.
"Doctor," his voice deepened a notch, taking on a faintly impatient edge, "there is no other man here ... in the middle or anywhere else ... and were there, we are using no sharp edged weapons with which to cut anything."
"Cutting out the middle man," Janet corrected him cheerfully without moving an inch. In fact, she settled a little more comfortably into the thick mat on the floor of the exercise room. "And it's a saying," she explained, a grin touching her lips as she caught his faint eye-roll. The Tau'ri tendency toward meaningless slang was clearly getting on his nerves. Some days he appeared to find it riveting. At that exact moment, she was comfortably certain he just found it irritating. "It refers to removing a pointless step in an activity." His shoulders tensed fractionally. "In this case, it means that it's easier -- and considerably less painful -- for me to just lie here on the floor, where I'm going to wind up anyway, rather than get up, have you demonstrate the latest 'unbeatable' hold, tell me to try it and then find out it's not quite so unbeatable after all as you respond with the one known countermeasure." She made a face. They'd already gone through that exact pattern several times. "At which point I wind up flying through the air and slamming into the floor more or less in the position I'm in now." She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, her own annoyance far less subtle than his. "So I think I'll just save a step or two and stay here, thank you very much."
***
...and that's just where it starts to get fun. If you enjoy a long, well plotted story with a good mix of UST, suspense, mystery and humour, what are you waiting for? Go read.
Beware Goa'ulds Bearing Gifts
morgan32 and I'll be reccing for Stargate SG-1 this month. I like well-plotted stories with a sense of humour and good characterisation. I'm planning to rec stories in a range of genres, but I'm going to concentrate on fics that focus on the women characters, because looking through the archives those have been somewhat neglected by the van. Fandom: STARGATE SG-1
Pairing: Sam/Janet (friendship)
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author Website: Pink Rabbit Productions
Why this must be read: Beware Goa'ulds Bearing gifts is the seventh story in Pink Rabbit's "Bits and Pieces" series. The series is based around the Stargate season one episodes, which means that although there is an ongoing storyline which charts the (very) slow development of a romantic relationship between Sam and Janet, it's possible to read most of the fics in the series as stand-alones. Pink Rabbit's SGC is a world where men are men, with all their faults and quirks as well as undeniable heroism, and where women are smart, strong and sexy.
Beware Goa'ulds Bearing Gifts is a postscript to the episode Hathor, and I recommend it for that alone: a Hathor fic that's not all about Daniel is a pearl beyond price. Without neglecting the male characters, Pink Rabbit's story is describes the consequences of Hathor's takeover for the women. Though Hathor has escaped the SGC, her power over the men on the base is not as gone as everyone thinks. Remember how the women used their feminine charms to escape the cell? Their ruse involved Janet kissing one young Airman. Inspired by that one kiss, the Airman develops a crush on Janet, which soon turns into a dangerous obsession.
***
Thinking Carter had come back for something, she looked up. "Sam, I--- Oh, Airman Phillips--" she exhaled when she saw the tall figure looming over her table.
"It's Tony, Ma'am," he corrected her and sank down into the seat Sam had vacated.
A subtle frown sketched its way across Fraiser's brow and she straightened her shoulders, her tone automatically becoming more formal. "How can I help you, Airman?" she asked, pointedly ignoring his invitation to use his first name.
He flushed, but didn't argue, just held out his hand, presenting her with a piece of notepaper she'd been using as a bookmark. "I think you dropped this, Ma'am," he said softly, eyes darkening as he purposely stroked her palm with the very tips of his fingers.
Janet yanked her hand back a little more quickly that was strictly necessary and tried to cover the instinctive response by staring down at the sheet as though reading the jotted notes written on one side in her scrawling hand.
"I thought it might be important," he said softly.
She looked up, reacting to his confident half-smile with a stiff look. "Not really," she said as she tucked the paper back into the journal, then snapped it shut. "But thank you." She carefully laid her fork back on the tray. "If that's all, I need to get back to work." Her tone didn't invite confidences.
"Well, actually, Ma'am," he began as she started to rise, leaving her little choice but to sink back down, "I was wondering if you'd reconsider letting me buy you that beer?" There was an unfamiliar edge of pushiness she couldn't remember from the times she'd encountered him before Hathor's arrival, but it wasn't like she'd spent much time around the guy. "I
could drive us over to Delvecchio's or Mike's ... or if there's someplace else you'd prefer, that's cool too. Actually, that might be even better. We could go after your current shift." He smiled as though they were chatting over a drink in a singles bar, seemingly confident she'd be bowled over by his charms.
***
This story is a strongly characterised piece, and though there is an underlying sexual tension between Sam and Janet the story is essentially gen. The plot is original and exciting and deals with a frightening subject in a way that will resonate with most women readers. But it's not just a thriller. Pink Rabbit writes with a sense of humour that is sometimes gentle and sometimes wicked, but always very funny.
Whether you like femslash or not, I recommend everyone read this for the wrestling scene. Janet is ordered to take a refresher course in self-defence - from Teal'c. And Pink Rabbit has Teal'c's voice down perfectly, as well as his early confusion with the ways of Earth:
***
A tiny sigh escaped the Jaffa's lips, another sign that she was really bugging the hell out of him, Janet realized in a rush, finding it oddly fascinating to hunt for the infinitesimally small cues to the big man's mood. "Doctor," he began after a moment of thought, "you will learn nothing of self-defense lying on the floor."
"I won't learn anything if I get up either," Janet pointed out, her tone logical, "and I'll wind up back down here anyway. Consider this cutting out the middle man." That got another sigh from the big man, and even a faint ticking of one eyebrow. She really was getting to him, Janet realized, fascinated by this new game.
"Doctor," his voice deepened a notch, taking on a faintly impatient edge, "there is no other man here ... in the middle or anywhere else ... and were there, we are using no sharp edged weapons with which to cut anything."
"Cutting out the middle man," Janet corrected him cheerfully without moving an inch. In fact, she settled a little more comfortably into the thick mat on the floor of the exercise room. "And it's a saying," she explained, a grin touching her lips as she caught his faint eye-roll. The Tau'ri tendency toward meaningless slang was clearly getting on his nerves. Some days he appeared to find it riveting. At that exact moment, she was comfortably certain he just found it irritating. "It refers to removing a pointless step in an activity." His shoulders tensed fractionally. "In this case, it means that it's easier -- and considerably less painful -- for me to just lie here on the floor, where I'm going to wind up anyway, rather than get up, have you demonstrate the latest 'unbeatable' hold, tell me to try it and then find out it's not quite so unbeatable after all as you respond with the one known countermeasure." She made a face. They'd already gone through that exact pattern several times. "At which point I wind up flying through the air and slamming into the floor more or less in the position I'm in now." She took a deep breath, letting it out slowly, her own annoyance far less subtle than his. "So I think I'll just save a step or two and stay here, thank you very much."
***
...and that's just where it starts to get fun. If you enjoy a long, well plotted story with a good mix of UST, suspense, mystery and humour, what are you waiting for? Go read.
Beware Goa'ulds Bearing Gifts