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As seen on my flist, sort of
There's this meme going around, which goes: Name a character I've written about, and I will tell you three things that I think are essential to keep in mind when writing that character.
But when I thought about doing the meme, and what I might say about some of the characters that I write, I realized that I don't exactly operate that way. I tend to think about characters in combination with other characters; I don't really go around thinking about Rodney, for example, but instead I think about Rodney + Teyla, or Rodney + Sam, or whatever. I don't have just one set interpretation of the character; instead I have different ways of writing them depending on the kind of situation and who they're interacting with.
So here's what we'll do instead!
Give me a character relationship -- i.e. name two characters from a show/book/movie who have some kind of relationship in canon (friendship, coworkers, enemies, sexual relationship, blood relationship, whatever) -- and I'll tell you three things I believe about the relationship between those characters.
You can name characters from anything I'm into -- SGA, Avatar, Dresden Files, Sanctuary or Artemis Fowl would probably work best at the moment, since those are the ones that are most currently in my head, but you can also pull characters out of anything else I've fanned on, whether or not I've written for it. You can name more than two characters if there is a clearly defined relationship between all of them as a unit, like a group of siblings, a family, a group of people who work together, etc. I'm perfectly fine with people posting more than once, BUT wait 'til I answer before you go and give me another pair to write about. :)
ETA: Comments may contain spoilers for the canons being discussed. I'm trying to steer clear of HUGE spoilers but it's impossible to discuss some of these characters without spoiling things.
But when I thought about doing the meme, and what I might say about some of the characters that I write, I realized that I don't exactly operate that way. I tend to think about characters in combination with other characters; I don't really go around thinking about Rodney, for example, but instead I think about Rodney + Teyla, or Rodney + Sam, or whatever. I don't have just one set interpretation of the character; instead I have different ways of writing them depending on the kind of situation and who they're interacting with.
So here's what we'll do instead!
Give me a character relationship -- i.e. name two characters from a show/book/movie who have some kind of relationship in canon (friendship, coworkers, enemies, sexual relationship, blood relationship, whatever) -- and I'll tell you three things I believe about the relationship between those characters.
You can name characters from anything I'm into -- SGA, Avatar, Dresden Files, Sanctuary or Artemis Fowl would probably work best at the moment, since those are the ones that are most currently in my head, but you can also pull characters out of anything else I've fanned on, whether or not I've written for it. You can name more than two characters if there is a clearly defined relationship between all of them as a unit, like a group of siblings, a family, a group of people who work together, etc. I'm perfectly fine with people posting more than once, BUT wait 'til I answer before you go and give me another pair to write about. :)
ETA: Comments may contain spoilers for the canons being discussed. I'm trying to steer clear of HUGE spoilers but it's impossible to discuss some of these characters without spoiling things.
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Sam and John
1. I think Sam is the first CO John's had that he trusts, respects and believes in -- the first one whose orders he's wanted to obey. He didn't have that with Elizabeth, though she came closer than he'd gotten before; he respected and liked her, but he didn't believe that she understood conditions on the ground, didn't believe that she could relate to the realities of his job. And because of that, he was always second-guessing her orders, always having to watch out for the day when she'd make a civilian mistake and get people killed if he didn't catch it first. But Sam's the first person he's served under who has been where he's been, on multiple occasions -- she's been part of a gate team, she's dealt with the same kind of day-in, day-out weirdness that he has, and she gets it. When she tells him to do something, it's usually what he knows deep down is the best thing to do in that situation. (And I also believe that all of the above is pretty much operating at a subconscious level in John -- he doesn't really think about any of this stuff. But it's there.) Because of their personalities and backgrounds, John and Elizabeth were always destined to have a combative working relationship, even though they were also friends. John and Sam can work as a team in a way he's never managed to do with a superior before or since.
2. I think Sam sees John as a guy who's going through a lot of the same things that she went through herself five or ten years ago -- and unlike John, she's self-aware enough to recognize the kinship. *g* For her, there was no rulebook, not really; no one who had been through anything similar. She and the rest of SG1 had to figure everything out on their own. Now she's caught between wanting to help, and suspecting that it would be a bad idea, because even aside from John being John (and about as receptive to advice as an especially stubborn rock), she also suspects that figuring it out on her own is a big part of what's enabled her to get to the point where she is now. John has to work through all the issues that she did, through all the deaths and the guilt and the weirdness and the "OMG, I'm 40 and I'm single" midlife crisis and the emotional disconnect of living on a classified mission that never ends, and he's going to have to do it on his own. This means that she's willing to roll with a lot of John's more prickly aspects because she can see where he's coming from, which is one of the reasons why he trusts her as much as he does (even if he's not entirely aware of it).
3. I see their relationship as 100% platonic, not just because of the chain of command thing (although that's part of it, and I think Sam is the kind of person who would take her responsibilities to a subordinate very seriously) but also because they're two people on the same journey, but at very different points in it. I don't ever see them being at a similar enough point on their trajectory to be able to hook up for anything more than a transitory fling, and I don't think either one of them, with each other, would be the transitory fling type. (And this is an example of what I mean by writing characters differently with different people, because I could totally see John having a casual, sex-only relationship with someone. Sam too. But I really can't see it happening with each other at all. It would need to be 100% or nothing, and I don't see either of them being willing or able to go for the 100%.)
Re: Sam and John
Re: Sam and John
I really like what you say about Sam being more self-aware (no kidding!) and recognising the kinship on a more conscious level. I don't think she would have been able to handle John four years ago, or even three years ago when she was leader of SG-1, but she was absolutely the right person for the job when she came on in S4. (Honestly, I love Sam best in SG-1 S9-10/SGA S4 era. Midlife has been good to her.)
I agree that they are totally platonic, though I read an AMTDI fic by
Re: Sam and John
Re: Sam and John
Re: Sam and John
Re: Sam and John
And the thing is, I don't FEEL like writing a nice, long, organic fic wherein I deal with the slow built and the when and the how, and the fall out because RODNEY would not be okay with it. I mean, you're comfortable with writing these amazing 65,000 word novels but I? At most, in recent years, since I got good, have written 20,000 and that killed me! (I used to write novel of utter crappitude in the 90's about General Hospital, *shudders*)
I want short, and hot. Except, then that leaves me with 'ok but how?!" And I don't want to cliche them. I don't want aliens made them do it, I don't want trapped, I don't want drugged.
Sigh. It's all very frustrating.
Re: Sam and John
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