Monday, August 18, 2014

Through the Looking Glass

A week ago we started highlighting some of the nominations in the Best Alternate Reality category and, since this one is quite popular, here are some more!



The continuation of the Best Alternate Reality Category


Would things turn out the same if one of their lives were different from an early age?



If you like long stories, especially what-if scenarios then this is the fic for you. With nearly forty chapters and about 80k words, it's guaranteed to keep you busy for many hours! Although published over six years ago, it is still very popular (read over a hundred thousand times!) among shippers.


This story's opening scene is somewhat confusing until you get to the end of the chapter and you'll go 'a-ha!'. In other words, expect the unexpected! Tribal Matriarch has a gift for coming up with original plots in a fandom that has so many fanfiction already. This one certainly won't disappoint.


"It explored the characters in a different way and I loved the direction you went with it. "
- Awishaway


The summary refers mostly to the Carter siblings, Sam and Mark, but even Jack's history/character is slightly different due to events that happened in his past. Daniel and Teal'c are around as well, but the major difference with canon is Mark's role. He is the Carter on SG-1, although Sam is still connected to the SGC in different ways.



You can probably imagine how different things would be with Mark on the team and Jack meeting Sam while she's not under his command - she's a civilian. However, things are not as simple as you might expect. Sam's history - and thus Mark's - is totally different from the character we know from the show. As the story unfolds, we'll learn more about what makes her tick and the author does a great job of explaining the differences that led to this fic's Samantha Carter.


Does this sound like your kind of fic? 






When another Carter comes through the Stargate, Sam must come to grips with this other version of herself, and deal with her faults, her doubts, and her concerns before they wreck her standing in the SGC and her personal relationships.



Newly uploaded to Archive of Our Own (AO3) but it was first published back in 2005 when the author was still known as SelDear. The story is a long read, with nearly fifty thousand words, and is set somewhere post season 8. Jack 'retired' and is in charge of training new recruits as a civilian contractor, while Sam is still in charge of SG-1. They appear to be somewhere in between dating and a relationship when the alternate Sam Carter comes through the Stargate...


Now, you may be familiar with all kinds of stories where an alternate Sam comes through the gate or quantum mirror, claiming to be from some alternate reality and requesting refuge, or even a reality to stay in. This fic is like that, kinda. Just a bit... different.


For one, this Carter wasn't involved with that reality's Jack O'Neill and most certainly has no romantic feelings towards him - or 'our' Jack. Secondly, not a civilian Doctor Carter. Nope, just another Colonel Carter.


You may wonder what the 'catch' is and why encountering (yet) another version of herself throws Sam off so much. Hell, it's a little more than just that. The whole situation makes her doubt herself, experience envy and nearly destroys her burgeoning relationship with Jack... 


It's quite simple, really. This alternate Sam Carter's full name? Samuel Carter. That's right. A male version of 'our' Samantha. Remember the comment she made in season 6's Forsaken when Corso asked what her name meant? Her father "wanted a boy". Well, in this story she gets to see first hand how things might have turned out had her reproductive organs been on the outside, instead of the inside... and it might not be what you expect.



Has it piqued your curiosity? Then click on the title and find out all about what life at the SGC might have been if Sam had been a guy from the start.






Jack O'Neill is second in command of a project to discover the purpose of this strange metallic ring found under the ice in Antarctica. Only no one seems to know what to do with it, except for a timid research assistant: Dr. Sam Carter. Can Jack help her find the confidence in herself to make the project succeed?



An alternate version of Moebius, this fic is a whole new take on what might have happened if they hadn't discovered the stargate at Giza. Instead, the 'second' gate in Antarctica was discovered, along with the bodies of two Jaffa. When the team of scientists fail to find a way to power the 'gate, General Hammond - the base commander - orders Colonel Jack O'Neill to go to Washington to retrieve a scientist unwilling to visit the site. Once there, Jack meets the Doctor's research assistant, a shy Doctor Samantha Carter who can barely form a full sentence. He is immediately intrigued by her but has to return to Antarctica with her boss, who turns out to be pretty much useless.

Soon, Jack confirms what he's suspected ever since his visit to DC: all the ideas the useless doctor had sent them before, were actually the work of his research assistant! Hammond okays bringing her aboard when Jack tells him, hopeful they will finally make some progress once she gets there.


Sam is excited about joining the project after all the work she's done behind the scenes, and at the same time she's relieved to be able to leave her fiancé, Captain Jonas Hanson, who has been getting increasingly violent with her.



"Loved your characters they felt like the ones we knew but definitely worked and felt at home in their other creation."

- PatriciaS


Later on, Daniel Jackson is brought on board to help them. Working together, they all try to figure out the mystery of the stone ring and along the way personal relationships are formed...


Sounds intriguing, right? Well, go on, it's only about twenty thousand words and you'll get your fic fix!




Dr. Carter receives a job offer from the SGC and discovers a life she never expected.

Another story starring a Doctor Carter, but this time it's not a geeky or even shy version of the character we all know and love. Still, events in the past have formed her to who she is today - fork in the road stuff - and slowly but surely, we learn more about her history.

It takes her a while to find her place at the SGC, but once she gets one of her familiar brilliant moments she earns everyone's respect. Up until that moment she and Jack haven't gotten along very well, in a deliciously UST-kind of way. He annoys and frustrates her, although she respects his leadership and willingness to do what needs to be done.


Jack, on the other hand, knows very well he's been attracted to her for a long time but he tries to deny it. He's not very successful and Daniel has no qualms about pointing this out to his friend in his usual manner.


However, things soon change when Sam goes through a traumatic experience and Jack is the only one who seems to understand. They get closer as he tries to help her through it and a sort-of friendship develops between the two of them...

As usual, Annerb has written a great fic in which we get to see our favorite characters in a different light, yet they remain recognizable. Not to mention the slow buildup of the ship. Just wonderful.

So, get something to drink and perhaps a snack, clear your schedule for the next few hours and put your phone on vibrate, because this story has nearly seventy thousand words, divided over forty two chapters... but you won't regret reading it. As a matter of fact, you might just find yourself rereading it again in the near future, like many of Annerb's readers have.

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