campylobacter | Samantha Carter: Mary Sue or Role Model?

In the same mimetic vein as the entry posted by fanfic author & friend

lolmac Looking for Daniel in all the right places wherein she asks for advice from "ardent Jacksonians" about how to write Daniel, and what's good or bad in the way he's depicted in canon & in fanfic, I'm asking the Samantha-stans, Carter-istas, Sam-fanatics & Stargate fans on my F-List (anons, too!):

How do you write Sam Carter in character?

I've been STUCK on TWO fan fiction stories in which I can't resist writing from this amazing military astrophysicist's PoV, but am having major anxiety that I might get her wrong.

What is it about Sam that you love?
What makes you squee?
What do you most love to see her do?
What are the elements of a Sam story that you love the most?
What do you really like seeing her do in fic? On the show? Both?
What is the most epic of Sam WIN?
What annoys and pisses you off when you see it in fan fiction?
What are the stupid/shallow/careless misinterpretations of Sam that must be avoided?
What qualifies as Sam!Fail?
Any other pointers, tips, criticisms, & pet peeves also welcome!

RELATED: Meta: The Evolution of Samantha Carter (or Why I Love Sam) by

rachel500
http://rachel500.livejournal.com/165064.html

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Poor dumb Sam and her poor dumb crush on her big gay CO
This cliche is so fucked up I don't even know where to begin. My biggest issue with it is IF JACK IS BONING DANIEL, THAT MAKES HIM BISEXUAL, NOT GAY. Because he never stops liking ~the ladies. In my fanons, (SG-1, SGA, XF, LotR, Farscape, Firefly...) I usually 'ship the main M/M pairings, based on the premise that the guys are BISEXUAL. Plus, I've never seen any indication in canon that Sam's a homophobe.

Paian's Appearance of Objects in Depth... Sam being angry and hurt that they would hide it from her, because she would have wanted to protect them.
Oh I need to read this. After I finish S8. So much of the best SG-1 fanfic is post-S6.

I don't think Sam would be that oblivious about it.
There's so much Jack/Daniel HoYay in canon, Sam can't help but notice.

she's hung up on not being hung up on him. She's the one who wanted to leave it in the room
Such a painful path she chose in that ep. A TOWER OF ANGST.

society at large views so much of relationships as the male's pursuit of the woman until she relents
UGGGHh the whole "women are responsible for men's morality because men are morally weak" concept really gets my goat. In the ass. With a fake penis.

oft-referenced and incorrectly applied Scorched Earth example
Sam obeys Jack's LET'S BLOW IT ALL UP Plan because he GAVE HER A DIRECT ORDER. You can see her chafing as she does it. (You can also see RDA wanting to wring Mallozzi & Mullie's necks for writing S1 Jack in S4.)

her sense of humor tends to be so understated and I think people miss that
Sam's humor is largely due to taking most of life *in* good humor. She just doesn't have the time or energy to waste on holding a grudge or being wanky about a pet peeve.

if there's anything Sam Carter has a lot of, it's feelings about stuff
That elevator scene in "Singularity" where Sam breaks down after leaving Cassandra? INSTANT CREYS ALL OVER MAI FACE

"naive"
More applicable to early S1 Daniel than to Sam, ever.

TBC

(You can also see RDA wanting to wring Mallozzi & Mullie's necks for writing S1 Jack in S4.)

YES YES OMG SO MUCH YES! That whole episode, or the other half of it feels like they all regressed as characters that it's painful to watch.

You wouldn't believe how many "Why I don't get S/J" posts I've read where people talk about Scorched Earth as some bastion of Sam's clouded judgment. It's not even close to being a fair example because of exactly what you said: Jack gave her a direct order. If she disobeys, then she's an incompetent officer. If she obeys, then apparently she's still an incompetent officer. You can't just wave around a lose/lose situation and call it irrefutable. Plus, yes, it's pretty evident how vehemently she disagrees.

You have to wonder why no blame gets placed with Jack for ordering to kill Daniel, but wait, no you don't. It all comes down to people looking for reasons to hate Sam. So it's like, let me see if I've got this right: she's too perfect, and therefore needs to make more mistakes. But hang on, she's also "pining" and therefore needs to never make any mistakes that could translate as her intense want of Jack's cock. ???

My biggest issue with it is IF JACK IS BONING DANIEL, THAT MAKES HIM BISEXUAL, NOT GAY. Because he never stops liking ~the ladies.

Oh, yes THIS!

As you know, I'm a Sam/Jack shipper, and there is plenty of canon support for those two flirting, straight through to plans for the third movie, and based on what AT and RDA have to say about how they played it. If you don't like the pairing, and think they have all the chemistry together of anemic half-dried slugs, it is still canon. So unless you go AU, it's there.

I've heard in more than one interview that both MS, and to a greater degree RDA were initially upset that people were shipping their characters. I don't think it was because they had not "evolved", indeed there are interviews out there that make it pretty clear that this was not the case. I'm betting that it was simply a case of "We weren't playing it that way. WTF! Where are they getting that?" The same interviews that say they were initially upset, say that they began to play up those moments, in part because it amused them, and in part as a gift to those fans. So if people want to see that, it's there. Deliberately. I'm a Sam/Jack shipper, but I admit it's there. People who are Jack/Daniel shippers have actual deliberately placed screen moments to squee over.

In one of the commentaries one of the directors (I think it was Peter DeLouise) points out in an infirmary scene, how RDA is reflexively checking out the female extra playing a nurse in an infirmary scene. There's another scene (when General Bauer is being introduced to the SGC) where apparently the female extra parading by the ranks of SGC personnel winks at RDA as she passes, on the side that cannot be seen on camera. He looks startled, and checks her out as she passes him. As you look for it, these moments are caught on film often.

So even if one wants a personal fanon where since DADT was removed, Daniel and Jack have wed, and are now using info from the Asgard core to experience mpreg and bear and raise a baker's dozen of assbabies, it would be hard to argue that they weren't two happily married bi-guys.

Samantha Carter: Mary Sue or Role Model?

How do you write Sam Carter in character?

Re: sam, sam, the sunshine woman - 2/2

Re: sam, sam, the sunshine woman - 2/2

Re: sam, sam, the sunshine woman - 2/2

Re: sam, sam, the sunshine woman - 2/2