Ooooh, nice post. I've really wrestled with this label myself, and I think it DOES often become a catch-all. One of my most often mentioned (by my readers) Sam/Daniel fics, I wrote as a friendship hurt/comfort story, yet the majority of readers see it as obvious UST and read it entirely with potential 'ship in mind. Another of my Sam/Janet stories was written mainly as friendship, and I really struggled with how to label it, because I felt if I labelled it UST (or pre-Slash) it would alienate the non-femslashers, yet I felt there was a lot there the femslash folk would enjoy, and I knew the UST label would open it up to that whole audience. In the end I labelled it as "friendship, can be seen as UST if you wish" and the Sam/Janet fans wrote back saying "ya think?!???" while the friendship fans said, "Oh, no, this is just purely a portrait of a beautiful friendship". So...meeenhh.
I have always had issues labelling my Sam/Jack fic, because, to me, Sam/Jack UST is canon. Whether you think they really have deep feelings of devotion to one another is up for interpretation, but the fact that (particularly during various eras of the show) Sam and Jack flirt and tease is just blatently THERE in canon. So, to me, writing a team fic with Sam/Jack UST is writing in canon, and you should be able to label that gen, as long as it never GOES anywhere. But I find that any hint of Sam/Jack 'shippiness in a gen fic (even when it is nothing more than you would see on screen on a Friday night) will get you potentially burned at the stake. So, I have never written anything labelled gen fic, because when I write the team, I refuse to ignore the canon flirtatious chemistry between Sam and Jack. And if you label it "friendship", you lose the 'shipper readers who think you're somehow opposed to UST.:S
So, yes, you have a very good point, but I have no idea what to do about it.:D
Myself, I do end up labelling a lot of Sam/Jack fic UST that probably shouldn't be. I would prefer to restrict it to fic in which there is obvious physical chemistry, brushes against skin, focus on Sam's scent when Jack passes, etc., and not have to label it such if Sam's beaten up and scared and wants Jack to hold her for a while, more than she wants the rest of the team. I don't think that should have to be UST, just becaue they share a hurt/comfort connection. Then again, if it were Daniel, I would say "hug her" and with Jack it's always "hold her", so maybe that's my answer right there.;)
I'll shut up now before I lose your original point altogether.:D
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2006-08-01 09:56 pm (UTC)I have always had issues labelling my Sam/Jack fic, because, to me, Sam/Jack UST is canon. Whether you think they really have deep feelings of devotion to one another is up for interpretation, but the fact that (particularly during various eras of the show) Sam and Jack flirt and tease is just blatently THERE in canon. So, to me, writing a team fic with Sam/Jack UST is writing in canon, and you should be able to label that gen, as long as it never GOES anywhere. But I find that any hint of Sam/Jack 'shippiness in a gen fic (even when it is nothing more than you would see on screen on a Friday night) will get you potentially burned at the stake. So, I have never written anything labelled gen fic, because when I write the team, I refuse to ignore the canon flirtatious chemistry between Sam and Jack. And if you label it "friendship", you lose the 'shipper readers who think you're somehow opposed to UST.:S
So, yes, you have a very good point, but I have no idea what to do about it.:D
Myself, I do end up labelling a lot of Sam/Jack fic UST that probably shouldn't be. I would prefer to restrict it to fic in which there is obvious physical chemistry, brushes against skin, focus on Sam's scent when Jack passes, etc., and not have to label it such if Sam's beaten up and scared and wants Jack to hold her for a while, more than she wants the rest of the team. I don't think that should have to be UST, just becaue they share a hurt/comfort connection. Then again, if it were Daniel, I would say "hug her" and with Jack it's always "hold her", so maybe that's my answer right there.;)
I'll shut up now before I lose your original point altogether.:D