#honestly the more i think about john sheppard the (even!) more i like him | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

azeriairis · 8 months

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I'm going to rant a bit about Trinity

Okay so Trinity is one of my favorite Stargate Atlantis Episodes, but I dislike the ending, specifically the apology McKay gives to Sheppard. Sheppard's reaction is fine, though I'm a little annoyed that it didn't carry on to later episodes, so it rings a little hollow. McKay's apology itself is more annoying because it fundamentally feels like he learned the wrong lesson for the mess.

There's a lot below the cut because I essentially just wrote a miniessay on the potential Trinity had for developing Rodney McKay's character that was completely wasted.

"I'm sorry for messing up and I promise to go back to getting everything right again" is a bad apology because him making a mistake was not the problem. The problem demonstrated in Trinity is that McKay, by refusing to consider the concerns of other Scientists and the possibility that he may be wrong effectively opted out of any system that may have prevented his mistakes from spiraling out of control, and this is not a problem McKay is ever shown to acknowledge nor solve. Mistakes aren't really a problem, so long as you learn from them, allowing your ego to get out of hand to the point where you neuter any system that could've helped prevent your mistakes from causing harm because you think that you are so much smarter than everyone else is one.

Doranda was the perfect example of what the consequences of McKay's opting out can be, McKay fucked up, yes, but his mistake would've been caught and prevented beforehand if he was literally anyone else, but because of his position as Head of the Science Department nobody can force him to actually consider the objections and concerns of other scientists*, so even though it was caught by Zelenka, McKay had free reign to completely ignore his advice, resulting in disaster.

Honestly a reasonable consequence to his actions would be McKay getting completely removed from his position. In Trinity he showed that he was completely willing to abuse his position as head of the science department to get out of what is essentially the peer review process by refusing to consider any objections others may have. And someone who will do that, isn't someone who you want in that position. Instead McKay essentially just got a stern talking to, and by the next episode pretty much everything is resolved and back to normal. He never really learned nor grew from this incident, and it didn't really impact his relationships with other characters.

It just feels like such a waste, this could've been used to develop Rodney's character in so many ways, but it just wasn't. He continues to shame and ridicule others for making mistakes, when this could've been used to get him to realize that everyone makes mistakes at some point, so it's more important to have systems in place to mitigate the harm of mistakes when they inevitably do show up. And He continues to discount and ignore other people's concerns even though taking the time to do so would've prevented the Doranda incident from happening altogether.

And even if he doesn't learn anything from this incident it still should've impacted his relationship with others. I mean for one there's Radek who he disrespected pretty openly while he was present, but he's not the only one. John nearly died because Rodney decided to be reckless and ignore the advice of someone he apparently trusts. Or what about the entire rest of the science department? Their boss essentially just made it known that he doesn't give a crap about their opinions when deciding which route to go down, once he's made a decision he's going to do it even if you confront him directly about the potential dangers he'll just lambast you, ignore your input and keep going anyways. That will most definitely impact how someone approaches their work and their interactions with said boss. Elizabeth just saw her Head Scientist completely opt-out of any critique of his idea, something he could only get away with because of his position, that should have an impact. But does any of these relationships change at all? No.

I could go on but I'll just stop here. Maybe I'll do a rewrite at some point, but not right now.

*technically John and Elizabeth could but as neither of them are scientists they lack the scientific knowledge to evaluate this stuff and make an educated decision, leading them to generally just trust Rodney implicitly, which isn't a very solid check.

#stargate #sga #stargate atlantis #rodney mckay

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oldfangirl81 · 11 months

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20 Questions for Fic Writers

@sugdenlovesdingle this seemed to fun to pass up.

And I'm procrastinating writing.

How many works do you have on AO3? 50

What's your total AO3 word count? 115,555 (lots of wips)

What Fandom do you write for? Marvel, 9-1-1, 9-1-1 LS, Teen Wolf, Top Gun, DC comics, RWRB, Prodigal Son, Doctor Who, BtVS, Eureka, Due South and some SPN.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos? High Flying Adventures in LA (Top Gun/911), 5 Times Tony Stark Did Not Want The Evil Person To Flirt With Him and 1 Time He Did Not Mind (Marvel/SPN/Doctor Who/True Blue), Walk Me Home (911/Eureka), Buster The Gay Dog (911), In The City (Top Gun/911/SWAT)

Do you respond to comments? Why or why not? I try but sometimes it does feel silly to just keep saying Thank you if there isn't anything else I can respond too.

What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending? If I Fall (BtVS/Doctor Who). Look I was reading a lot of a certain kind of BtVS fic so this one has Xander deciding to join The Master.

What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending? Maybe Buster the Gay Dog (911) or A Thousand Good Stories (Top Gun/911 Lone Star). The first Eddie & Buck get together at the end. And the second Bradley & Jake are engaged by the end.

Do you get hate on fics? Rarely. But the funniest one to me was on the 5 Times Tony Stark fic. I was called both a misogynist and homophobic.

Do you write smut? If so what kind? I very rarely write true smut. I do fade to black often. I did write a fic once where Starfire gave Jason a blowjob in an alley. And I swear it isn't exactly what it sounds like but it is at the same time. She was trying to make him stop risking his life by giving him something to live for. Look there is a reason I don't write much smut in over a decade.

Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've written? Yes, I write crossovers. It's kinda my thing really. As for the craziest one? I honestly don't know because a bunch are probably considered odd. Maybe the Marvel crossover with Red White & Royal Blue. Or maybe 9-1-1 and Eureka. Or maybe 9-1-1 Lone Star & Marvel. Or 9-1-1 Lone Star & DC comics. Or maybe my recent Danny Phantom and 9-1-1.

Have you ever had a fic stolen? Yup. It was copied word for word. But it was so long ago I couldn't actually tell which of my fics it was. It might even be one of the ones I orphaned in the years to follow because I don't touch that fandom anymore, nor do I want it associated with me.

Have you ever had a fic translated? I don't think so. I'm not against it.

Have you ever co-written a fic before? Nope. The closest I've come was Tumblr RP over a decade ago now.

What's your all time favorite ship? I can't really pick. I rarely abandon ships for good. I still love Benton Fraser/Ray K, Blair Sandburg/Jim Ellison, Xander Harris/Spike, John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Stiles/Derek Hale, Steve McGarret/Danny Williams, Danny Messer/Mac Taylor, Danny Messer/Don Flack, Kaylee Fyre/Simon Tam and most of those have been off the air for years and years now.

What's a WIP you want to finish but doubt you ever will? Something About That Boy (Marvel/BtVS) or Where Me Demons Hide? (Marvel/BtVS)

What are your writing strengths? I'd like to say my dialogue. And ridiculous chaotic plots in a fun way.

What are your writing weaknesses? Finishing a story before starting ten more. The non dialogue parts.

Thoughts on writing dialouge in another language in a fic? Be careful there be dragons there. I know I've done it in some fics. And a sentence here or there isn't the worst if you aren't fluent. But be open if someone ever corrects you. And more than that maybe find a beta that is fluent in whatever language you are hoping to add to the fic. I know google translate can be rough.

First fandom you wrote in? Ugh, I don't want to answer but if googling my penname is accurate it would have been May '05 so it appears to have been a Harry Potter and BtVs crossover.

Favorite fic you've written? Toss up between Won't You Come See About Me (Top Gun/Marvel) or Wild Angels (9-1-1 Lone Star/DC Comics). Both are WIPs that are NOT abandoned in the slightest.

If you read all this thanks for supporting my procrastination. And feel free to answer these questions yourself.

#tumblr games #writing things #my fics

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tunemyart · 3 years

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God guys, SGA is actually really a genuinely strong show 15 years later? and this lesbian is still shipping John Sheppard and Elizabeth Weir after all this time, for reasons ya girl has been meditating on, bc y’all know me and what I ship, and also bc if you know anything about SGA, it’s probably that the biggest ship far and away was a slash ship: McShep, i.e. John Sheppard/Rodney McKay. Which is amazing! And I’ll also say here that I miss this genre of show, e.g. gen, so much, where you can ship basically any combination of everybody and not be wrong or you can ship nobody at all and just have a bunch of found family and also not be wrong.

I’ll skip talking about the more obvious beats of the Sheppard/Weir relationship and focus on the things I love, and which I think also drew me to them way back in ye olde repressed bby lesbian days: which is to say, their respect for each other. Which is to say even more specifically, John’s respect for Elizabeth.

Which is! monumental! By the end of S1, he backs her against every threat to her authority, even and especially from the military he’s the most senior member of in Atlantis. He overtly moves himself physically to stand behind her when she’s being challenged. He defers center stage to her, and only steps in when there’s a physical threat or when someone is challenging his own allegiance. By S2, he’s regularly seeking out and deferring to her opinions - bc she’s actively depending on doing the same thing with his.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about 2x06 Trinity since I rewatched it, bc everybody else knows they’re each other’s pressure points by this point too. Elizabeth tells Rodney no to something dangerous he arrogantly believes he can do; John backs and agrees with her. Rodney, knowing John will listen to him, goes back to John and pleads his case, and ends it with, “Elizabeth will listen to you.” Next scene: Elizabeth is listening to John - albeit with heavy reservations. To be fair, the reason Trinity is so good is bc of how well they all know each other - and how that can also be detrimental to them.

I just rewatched 2x13 Critical Mass tonight and it made me want to scream - not just bc it was still so good, but bc the amount of silent communication between them was so startling, and startlingly natural. Elizabeth is wavering on a moral call and looks to John; John’s already waiting with a silent look. She makes the call. He affirms it - silently - with a nod to the person carrying it out.

All of this is so much, and isn’t even to mention the way they also simply just like each other, joke with and are vaguely flirty with each other, often decompress with each other privately as the final beats of an episode. It felt so revelatory to me at the time too, which is maybe part of why I imprinted on this show (not to mention Elizabeth Weir, my beloved) so hard. Maybe the way to show a woman succeeding at being a leader sometimes isn’t necessarily showing how she has to beg and scrape and fight for the right to be there just bc it’s “accurate.” Maybe sometimes it’s to show her being respected, supported, and loved. Maybe sometimes, as with so many things in fiction, I just want to see how it can be, and imagine that seeing it represented that way can affect the world right back.

y’all are no doubt saying to yourselves why is Amy being so fucking weird about shipping a het ship for a show that’s over 15 years old? but gosh, some het ships - even for a gen show - do have rights.

#honestly the more i think about john sheppard the (even!) more i like him #making sure one of his team members got mental help she needed by lining up the doctor #and calmly letting her know she wouldn't be put back on duty before she talked to the therapist?#big moves for a tv show in 2005!!!!#anyway yes i know sga is problematic for all the imperialist reasons but i'm still enjoying the fuck out of it #amy watches sga #sga

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itwoodbeprefect · 3 years

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Inge! sorry I'm a little late to the party, but do you still take prompts? if yes, I'd like to request a friendship piece for either Rodney&Teyla or Rodney&Ronon (w/ or w/out a dash of McShep is good for me) pretty please? thanks! <3

Not that late at all, and what a lovely warm prompt! Thank you. :D

I went with Rodney & Ronon, but also kind of Rodney & Teyla and maybe Ronon & Teyla, and also John is around, and it’s almost teamfic? Also, Jeannie.

---

The door to John’s quarters slides open exactly like his own would, which he expects, but he stops cold after two hasty steps into the room anyway. He turns back to the door to check, and in the process has to look past the Johnny Cash poster above the bed and the surfboard leaning against the wall and the giant brick of a Tolstoy book on the nightstand, so yeah, he decides in the end, without stepping out to doublecheck - these are John’s quarters. There’s not a single thing out of place, except, well, the obvious.

“McKay,” Ronon grumbles. It sounds like a greeting. Like Ronon, sitting fully clothed on the edge of John’s made bed, is saying hi.

“What are you doing here?” Rodney asks, by way of saying hi back.

“Meeting Sheppard.” Ronon grins, in a way that looks a little dangerous. That’s a good sign with Ronon, who has no problem looking a lot dangerous, if he wants. “Unless you want to spar with me.”

Rodney does not. Rodney thinks that’s a little too predictable for him to say out loud; quite honestly, he thinks John is crazy for endangering his life that way voluntarily every week.

Rodney looks back at the door again, which has slid closed, and in front of which the person he’s been looking for has not suddenly materialized in the last ten seconds. “Where is John?”

“Not here.”

Rodney’s nerves make him skip the snappy comeback. “Any idea where he might be?”

“Why?” Ronon asks.

Which is more than enough to make Rodney spill his guts. He was barely holding it in, anyway. “I think Jeannie’s mad at me, and I’m not sure why.” He frowns and starts to pace back and forth and rub his hands together. He’s a multitasker. “I don’t think I did or said anything rude lately, but her emails are shorter than usual, and she didn’t even sign the last one. It’s really not like me to overthink these kinds of things, because I don’t care what people think of me anyway-” That’s a lie, he’s come to realize in recent years, but it’s a comforting one to repeat out loud, sometimes. “But, you know, I think I was the bad guy for not contacting Jeannie all those years and we’ve only just started being brother and sister again, so I’ve been trying to put in the effort, and now I think she’s mad at me.” He stops marching and gives the too long, didn’t read version. “So I need someone to tell me what I did wrong, so I can fix it.”

Ronon levels a look at him. “And you need John for this.”

The look says more than the words, and it has a point, of course. John’s not known for his exceptional social grace and skill. Rodney wags his head a little, considering how to justify his choice. John is his best friend, but he’d feel a little pathetic saying that to Ronon, who he’s pretty sure is also John’s best friend. “He had some surprisingly clever insights about my relationship with Jeannie last time she was here,” is what Rodney lands on, reluctantly. He spots John’s golf stuff in the corner, and wistfully thinks back to being able to just ramble at John without Ronon sitting there, judging him.

Ronon leans back, planting his hands behind him on the mattress. “I could help,” he offers, out of the blue.

Some deep, deep blue. Blue enough to make Rodney stare, hands stilling mid-wring. “You?” Rodney’s not trying to be offensively puzzled, but he thinks he’s allowed a little surprise. If John is dubious in his social grace, Ronon is a tripping hazard. “You could help?”

Ronon stares back like a challenge. “Yeah.”

“Okay,” Rodney says. He waits and looks at Ronon expectantly, but nothing happens. Ronon just looks back at him mutely. “Please?”

“What would Teyla do?”

“Huh?” She’s not here, either - if Ronon’s help is just sending him to chase someone else around the city, that’s not very helpful at all.

“Ask yourself,” Ronon says. “What would Teyla do? And then do that thing.”

Rodney is right back to baffled. He’s not sure he ever left - he’s talking to Ronon Dex about feelings. “Is that how you handle a problem?”

“No.” Ronon leaves a pause there. Rodney finds himself unexpectedly distracted by the question if Ronon talks so little because he really just doesn’t have much to say, or because finding words takes effort. “I glare at it until it goes away.”

Rodney huffs a laugh out of pure surprise, because that almost sounds like a joke. It may not have been, but either way Ronon doesn’t glare at him, which Rodney takes as a sign that he hasn’t just become a problem.

“And if that doesn’t work-” Ronon continues, which Rodney feels is surprisingly talkative of him, until he lets that sentence hang unfinished.

But Rodney can do that, now. Finish Ronon’s sentence. “What would Teyla do?”

Ronon nods. He looks a little smug, like there’s a dead Wraith around here somewhere. “Yeah.”

“Oh,” Rodney says, both because he would have guessed that Ronon’s backup plan would involve a lot more knives (though it could, potentially, still involve knives sometimes - Teyla’s very good with those) and because that’s actually good advice. If there’s one person who would know how to get someone to tell them what’s wrong, it’s Teyla.

And if Teyla thought somebody she loved might be mad at her, but she wasn’t sure why, she would... ask. She wouldn’t go into a tailspin and try to guess at the answer while assuming it had to be her fault, she would ask why and listen and then talk it out.

“Oh my God,” Rodney says, feeling like a whole new world just opened up to him. “Words.”

Ronon pulls a face. It looks a little like a sympathy wince.

Rodney flings a hand out at him. “Thank you!”

“Thank Teyla,” Ronon says, which Rodney thinks is a little weirdly modest for the galaxy’s greatest Runner who just counseled him through a family emergency, but they can work on Ronon’s ability to accept gratitude later, over lunch or something.

For now, Rodney sweeps out of the room, because he needs his computer so he can type so he can get Jeannie to tell him what’s bothering her so he can be a good brother, and apologize only once he knows what he’s apologizing for. God, Teyla’s smart.

As luck would have it, John is just stepping out of the transporter when Rodney storms towards it. “Hey,” he says, slowing to a stop when Rodney doesn’t. “What are you doing here?”

“Asking you for help.” Rodney brushes right past him with a pat to his arm; no time.

“You’re going the wrong way,” John calls after him.

“I’m fine! Ronon helped me by making Teyla help me help myself with Jeannie.”

“What?”

The last thing Rodney sees before he steps into the transporter is John’s bewildered face. It’s clear John is left with some questions, but Rodney doesn’t need to hang around for that. Ronon can take over; that’s what Teyla would do.

Or, Rodney thinks, what a friend would do.

(Turns out, in the end, that Jeannie was never even mad at him to begin with - her next email is much longer, and details all the mundane little circumstances that piled up and left her very stressed last month but that she didn’t think Rodney had wanted to hear about (it involves a flu and lice and a car that wouldn’t start and visiting in-laws and school play preparations and a lost teddy bear and half a dozen other little things Rodney is glad he doesn’t have to deal with in Pegasus), and then she calls him very attentive for picking up on her mood and sweet for thinking to ask if everything is okay.

The next day Rodney bribes one of the botanists to cut a bouquet for him and gives it to Teyla, and he hoards one of the last pieces of pie at dinner until Ronon shows up. “What’s happening?” John asks, suspicious. Maybe Ronon’s explanation wasn’t all that comprehensive after all.

“Emotional intelligence,” Ronon says around a full mouth, spewing little pieces of pie across the table, and Rodney nods solemnly.

That’s not what Teyla would do, because she’s smiling at them both, but close enough.)

#there could be mcshep in this but it would be very hidden between the lines #(i have two prompts left and if one of those is yours - it's still coming! somewhere the next few days hopefully)#my fic #sga #*#stargate atlantis #ronon dex #rodney mckay

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valdomarx · 3 years

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Lost in Translation

McShep + fake relationship, for @lamberts <3

John glances around warily. The people of this planet seem friendly enough, but with Teyla and Ronon off visiting another village, he feels acutely vulnerable.

“Will others be joining you?” The village elder gives him a inquiring look.

“Just McKay. He’s my scientist.”

The elder frowns. “What is scientist? We do not know this word.”

“Oh.” He looks around the mud hut and contemplates how to explain it. They clearly don’t have a frame of reference for astrophysics or computer programming here. “He’s part of my team. He travels with us and, you know, gets us out of difficult situations. Opens doors. Fixes things when they break. That sort of thing.”

“Ahh.” The elder smiles beatifically. “This we know. He is your chap’tah.”

“Sure, I guess.”

“It is good for one who travels to have a chap’tah.”

John grins. “He has his uses.”

Some of the villagers raise their eyebrows at that, but it’s soon forgotten as they move onto the trade negotiations.

“I brought you food.” One of the village women smiles at him shyly as she hands over some kind of bread and fruit. “Should I bring more for you to give to your chap’tah as well?”

“Thank you.” John waves her off. “But don’t worry about McKay. I’m sure he’ll track down the food himself soon enough.”

The woman draws back in horror. “You do not feed him?”

“What? No?” John boggles. “I mean. He’s allowed to eat. Does so a whole lot, actually. But I don’t typically oversee that personally.”

“In our culture, we honor our chap’tahs by providing them with food. Is it not so where you are from?”

“It’s not.” John thinks about the last time the Daedalus came by to restock Atlantis and the frankly incredible volume of snacks that were distributed among the scientists. “Not officially, anyway.”

“Perhaps you should try it.”

He thinks about the way Rodney’s face lights up when he brings donuts to the lab. “Perhaps I should.”

“We have prepared a hut for you and your chap’tah.”

“Great.” John isn’t crazy about staying the night here, but the gate is a long hike away and they clearly aren’t in any immediate danger.

The villager, a young man with broad shoulders, leads him to a hut on the edge of the central meeting place. “We hope you will be comfortable.”

John sticks his head inside. It is exceedingly small, barely enough space for one person. It was going to be cramped as hell with both him and Rodney in there.

But they are guests, and he doesn’t want to be rude. “Lovely. Thank you.”

The young man gives him a knowing wink. “We know that a man likes to keep his chap’tah close.”

And that was… weird. But okay, having a scientist close at hand was pretty useful.

Rodney storms up to him and John laughs so hard he nearly chokes. He’s wearing some kind of elaborately tied white tunic and has flowers woven into his hair. His face has turned a furious puce color and he is fuming.

“Fun day?” John asks when he’s regained enough breath to speak.

“They insisted on dressing me like this and it’s all your fault.” He waves a finger in John’s face.

“How’s that?”

“They said I had to be presented handsomely. As if my usual attire is anything but! And the more I argued, the more they insisted I had to because of you. ‘When one is chap’tah, one must be at one’s most agreeable.’” Rodney does a mean impression of one of the village elders. “What the hell did you tell them?”

“Honestly, nothing! Just that you were my team scientist. Maybe they really love celebrating science here?”

“Oh, right, because this is a bastion of forward-looking experimental thinking!” Rodney gestures wildly around the village. “I feel so celebrated.”

John suppresses a smile. “I think you look very nice. White suits you.”

He keeps a straight face for all of two seconds before Rodney tries to throttle him.

That night, there’s a celebration in honor of their new trade alliance. The villagers build an enormous bonfire and smoke meats and vegetables over it like the galaxy’s biggest barbecue. After the food, they hand around gourds full of sweet mead which leaves sugar on John’s lips and tingling in his throat. And then the dancing begins.

Dancing has a long tradition in this culture, he learns: dances in the hope of a good harvest, dances to give thanks, dances to celebrate births and to commemorate deaths. Every family seems to own a drum or pipe of some kind, and they bring them out to play relentless, rhythmic music to which they twirl around the fire.

The mead must have been stronger than he thought, because when one of the villagers invites him to dance he takes her up on the offer, letting her show him the steps. He catches sight of Rodney watching him from the other side of the fire with a frown, and he’s compelled to pull him to his feet and to wipe that frown away.

Neither of them have the elegance and agility of the others, but that doesn’t seem to matter. John does his best to show him the footwork, but they mostly end up bumping into each other and laughing. At one point they collide so hard that Rodney nearly goes sprawling, and John catches him around the waist to hold him upright.

The firelight paints them both in hues of orange, and a red flush is spreading across the tops of his cheeks, the way it always does after more than one drink. John longs to trace it with his fingertips.

If I kissed him now, he catches himself thinking, he'd taste of honey and wood smoke.

They make it until dawn before staggering back to their hut. The villagers are still dancing, and they fall asleep to the sound of drumming.

John wakes up far too hot, with something fluffy tickling his nose and something soft and appealing pressed up against him.

He blinks, stretches, and realizes the tickling thing is Rodney's hair, which his face is buried in, and the heavy weight is Rodney's ass, which he's grinding up against.

Erm.

“Jesus, Sheppard, you could at least buy me dinner first.”

John stills, embarrassed. Though Rodney sounds bleary but not exactly adverse to the idea.

Interesting.

"How about once we get back?"

"Huh?" Rodney is not at his sharpest first thing in the morning.

"Dinner. You. Me. Atlantis."

"Oh." Rodney snuggles back into him. "Yeah, alright."

Nice. "Okay. Good "

There's a quiet moment, and John enjoys the warmth of his arms around Rodney.

Rodney never could appreciate quiet though. "Why did you stop?" He sounds almost petulant. It's kind of cute. "With the -" he gestures vaguely, "- you know."

"Technically I didn't buy you dinner yet."

"Ehh, I'm pretty easy. I'll put out for a potential dinner."

Really nice.

He smiles into Rodney's hair. "If you insist."

It’s several hours later that Teyla arrives. John is sat on a muddy bank playing a game involving balancing piles of sticks with some of the local kids, and Rodney has been hustled off to have more flowers braided into his hair. When the village women tugged him out of the hut, giggling and waving flowers, he’d thrown his hands up and barely even complained, so he must be in a truly good mood.

“John,” Teyla gives him a polite nod as she approaches, flanked by two of the villagers. “Caton and Sar’ai tell me that negotiations went well.”

He stretches lazily. “They did. I think we can get enough food to keep Atlantis stocked for several months.”

“Good. Well done.” She comes and sits by him on the bank. “They also told me that you were here with your husband.”

He blinks at her.

She’s hiding a smile. “Is there something you would like to tell me?”

“Erm.” John thinks back over the last day. The chap’tah. The food. The flowers. The shared hut.

Ahh.

“There seems to have been a misunderstanding about me and McKay. Though, on reflection, I can perhaps see how they might have got the wrong impression.”

Teyla nods sagely. “It would be best if you, how shall we say, play along for the rest of the visit? No need to risk a diplomatic incident.”

Very well. If he must, he must.

When Rodney comes back, this time dressed in a fetching blue sheet with violet flowers tucked behind his ears, John pulls him close and kisses him. Rodney makes a happy humming noise and none of the villagers seem perturbed, so he’s going to count that as a win.

As they collect their gear and begin the walk back to the gate, John takes Rodney’s hand in his own.

Teyla inclines her head knowingly. “I am glad your mission was successful,” she says.

"Just doing my part,” he replies, giving Rodney’s hand a little squeeze, “in the spirit of intergalactic understanding."

#mcshep #stargate atlantis #lamberts #my writing #avia this was so much fun to write #i love this prompt thank you :D

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stars-are-just-ghosts · 3 years

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McShep One Shot - Black Hole

He wasn’t entirely sure how they’d started this particular conversation. They talked about everything, but this? People they’d dated. Men and women. People they’d wanted to date. People they’d never even bothered to ask. People they wondered ‘what if?’ about. There was a thoroughness to the banter that Rodney hadn’t expected to have with John during such an out of purview conversation. As though John wasn’t just talking about it, one guy to another, but searching for clues, digging around for information. It was almost... professional, like he got when he was working hard on figuring out a high stakes situation. There were always things they talked about, their thoughts spiraling from one thing to the next till they usually didn’t remember where they’d started from. It was easy, as easy as calculus or triple integrals. Talking with Colonel John Sheppard would never get old. But that didn’t mean it couldn’t get confusing sometimes. Because Rodney had figured out, nearly the moment they met, that he was supremely lost on the elf-eared, crazy-haired, smart-mouthed, just-plain-smart man in a way he’d never experienced, and wouldn’t dare pursue. Because how could anyone like John want anyone like him? But then he’d catch glimpses of John looking at him in a way that seemed far beyond the fondness of one colleague to another. Or John would say things that were very clearly compliments, but somehow far more appreciative of the matter at hand. Or their conversations would step right into entirely too confusing territories. Like now. “You’re as bright as a black hole and twice as dense, I swear.” John said, half laughing at his own description. “If someone practically waved themselves in front of you, naked, doing the macarena with sparklers in their hands, you’d have no idea they were flirting.” “You would know, wouldn’t you. Captain Kirk. You practically have flirting down to a science. Can flirting be considered a science? More like witchcraft, if you ask me. It’s ridiculous. Why can’t two grown adults just tell each other the plain facts. Just look at each other and say, ‘Hey, I like you. You obviously like me. Let’s do this.’ But no, there always has to be some sort of show. Grandstanding to attract a mate like a peacock is not my idea of how one person should woo another.” Rodney grated out, crossing his arms as he sat back on the one short couch in John’s quarters. The Colonel was sitting across from him, relaxed in his own chair, the chess game on the short table between them entirely forgotten by now. Rodney watched as John’s brows furrowed, watched as his hands went from relaxing to fingers tapping the ends of the arms on the chair in that enticingly rhythmic way that Rodney had once or twice (or two dozen times) wondered how it would feel on his own skin. John had that fidget of sorts, or was it a tic? Usually when he was trying to come up with a game-plan, one that required getting in to a lot of trouble, or getting out of it. But as suddenly as his fingers had started up, they stopped. Rodney darted his eyes to John’s face and.... oh. What was that look? He’d never seen that look before. Or at least, not directed toward him. That was the look John got when he wanted something. Or someone. It made Rodney forget to breathe. All the air ceased to exist. Could a person live without breathing? Of course not. That was a stupid questi- John stood up without a word, the single action completely ceasing any further ramblings in his typically packed brain. In fact, Rodney had no thoughts at all. No sarcasm. No genius. Where had his genius gone? Apparently, it was on vacation. Because right now, he couldn’t understand what was happening. Or not happening. The confusion only got worse when John sat down directly next to him, turned to face him, his knee pressing into his. “Hey Rodney.” John said easily, a spark of humor in his eyes as he took in whatever the hell kind of expression Rodney could feel himself making. “I like you. You obviously like me. Let’s do this.” John said his words right back to him. Rodney felt himself breathe again, but only because his heart started doing an ungraceful impression of a marching band and his lungs seemed to want to get out of the way of the noise. Could John hear that?! Because that was loud. That was... wait... “Are you mocking me?!” He demanded, frustration searing through him as he dropped his arms and sat straight up, facing John who just smiled. A real, warm, affectionate smile. It was like the one he usually gave Teyla, or even Ronon. Because Rodney knew John loved them like family. But he’d never turned that smile on Rodney. Not really. He thought he’d catch ghosts of that smile. But now... now he could see it, clear as day. And somehow, it was different. It was... “Rodney. I am not mocking you.” John said almost careful, like humoring a child. “In fact,” He scooted a little closer, “I have been trying every damn thing I could think of to flirt with you. If I’d know it was as simple as just telling you I want you, then I’d have done this a whole lot sooner.” “What, really?” Rodney was well aware his eyes were wide now, his voice a little tight. “Wait, do what?” He asked, brows furrowing lightly. Okay, so... maybe he could be a little dense. Maybe all the stuff he thought he’d seen was way more than just tiny moments of maybes. John’s face softened considerably, the smile fading to something gentler. It brought entirely new qualities to his already too handsome as hell face. It was really unfair. “This.” John said simply. And then he lifted both hands, palms cupping Rodney’s cheeks, effectively holding him in place as John leaned forward and... oh, OH. Any frustration, any confusion, any wondering went out the window and into the deep, dark depths of the ocean. Because John’s lips were obviously made of silk, and they fit so damn perfectly against Rodney’s, and when their tongues met it was instantly addictive, and Rodney could smell John’s aftershave, so warm and clean, and his hands were entirely too steady... more steady than Rodney’s. Because he could feel a fine tremble in every finger, flowing through every muscle, shaking him like he was freezing. When John pulled his mouth away, which made Rodney instantly whine, he was smiling. He was searching Rodney’s eyes. That same, adoring expression on his face. But Rodney could see it now. He could see what was different about it. “Oh.” Rodney said, almost flatly, despite the fact that he was feeling anything but unimpressed. John laughed, dropping his hands but staying close and Rodney found himself smiling back. “You’re right. You really should have done this sooner, Colonel. Quite frankly, I’m disappointed in you. You’re supposed to be the flirting expert.” John half-chuckled, half-scoffed. “Shut up, Rodney.” He stated, and before Rodney could protest, John started kissing him again. And honestly, Rodney was perfectly alright with that. Because there was kissing, and there was kissing. And John was, of course, incredibly good at it. Though Rodney didn’t have the time to think about it. Because he was thinking about what kissing could lead to. And the list was endless. Somewhere along the way, Rodney decided that people didn’t need to breathe to keep living. As long as he could keep doing this with John, he could live forever...

#mcshep #one shot #rodney mckay #john sheppard #sga #stargate atlantis #fanfiction #rodney is dense #but john likes him anyway #fluff #send me an ask #I'll write you a one-shot

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ragingpancake · 3 years

Note

McShep Prompt: retirement?

A/N: This 100% did not go where I meant for it to go when I read your prompt LOL but I kind of like it anyway! Thank you so much for taking a second to send me a prompt idea! @a-storm-of-roses

He didn’t think he’d ever make it here. Honestly, he figured he’d either end up dying in the field or being dishonorably discharged before he ever got a chance. Here they are though.

He’d be lying if he said he wasn’t nervous. He’s never been one for the whole pomp and circumstance thing but they’d insisted and when word got around it was really hard to squash it, which is why he’s here, standing in front of the mirror and trying to do… something with his hair. “It’s no use, you know,” a familiar voice says and John glances over his shoulder as Rodney comes in, smoothing his hands across the shoulders of John’s dress blues, making sure there are no creases in uncreasable places. “You haven’t been able to tame that in the twenty years I’ve known you. What makes you think you’ll manage today?”

“Well, I don’t know, Rodney but I figured I’d give it a shot.” “Yeah. Big day, huh?” Behind him, Rodney rocks up onto his toes, humming quietly to himself as he takes in the view and John can feel his cheeks heating up under the appraising glance. “Yeah. Still keep waiting for someone to pop out and tell me this is all just a joke, but--.” “Well, if anyone tried to take this away from you, I’m pretty sure the entire base would revolt so,” Rodney offers him a crooked grin, “there’s that.” “There’s that,” John repeats and he takes a deep breath, turning to face Rodney then. “S’this look okay?” “Once the ceremony is over and I get a chance to rip you out of that uniform, I’ll be more than happy to wax poetically about just how okay you look,” and John huffs out a laugh at that. “Such a perv,” he teases and Rodney shrugs. “Yup. But you knew that and still married me, so.” “Yeah I did,” John says and he leans in then to kiss Rodney gently, letting some of the tension in his shoulders bleed away. “Still haven’t figured out what we’re gonna do after this,” he murmurs against Rodney. “Whatever we want,” Rodney reminds him. “Enjoy retirement. Pretty sure we’ve earned it.” John can’t disagree with that. “Yeah. But aren’t you going to miss it? Even just a little? I mean, this has been our home for a really, really long time.” “It used to be,” Rodney agrees and then he’s right there again, pressing his lips to John’s once more. “Home can be wherever we are together.” “Yeah,” John says and when he pulls away, he straightens his uniform jacket and runs his fingers back through his hair one more time. “C’mon, General Sheppard,” Rodney hums, tugging John’s hand away from his hair. “Let’s go get this over with and then…” “And then?” “Whatever we want. Together.”

#askbox prompts #john sheppard #rodney mckay #john sheppard/rodney mckay #mcshep #ship: mcshep #stargate atlantis #sga #fandom: sga #a-storm-of-roses

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itsgoldleaf · 3 years

Text

I posted 446 times in 2021

46 posts created (10%)

400 posts reblogged (90%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 8.7 posts.

I added 132 tags in 2021

#stargate atlantis - 38 posts

#mcshep - 31 posts

#rodney mckay - 18 posts

#john sheppard - 14 posts

#goldleaf's writing - 10 posts

#ask meme - 5 posts

#pacific rim au - 4 posts

#ronon dex - 4 posts

#fictober21 - 4 posts

#stargate - 4 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#i do hope it’s a good show but i’ll have to wait for the whole thing to come out and spin a wheel to decide which service i’ll subscribe to

My Top Posts in 2021

18 and 22 for the ask game, plz

Thank you Anon! 18. I name you writer on the show: What's the first thing you write Season 6? A fix-it for all the weird characterisation in season 5? LOL this is a tough question. I think, yes, I'd ultimately like to write another season but have it be like, a mini series maybe, 4 episodes max? Something to just, make everything better and satisfy my own self-indulgences but also make up for the yawning omissions in the show in general. I would love to write a slice-of-life thing where everyone is back in Pegasus, literally 100% composed of all those small, weirdly away-from-the-action character moments that are dotted around so much in the show that have no plot significance but really flesh out the people and their relationships to one another. I'd give Teyla and Ronon actual respectable character arcs and utilise them as people with unique experiences and perspectives and not just sounding boards for other characters' dialogue. Half the time in SGA it doesn't matter if you give the line to Teyla or Ronon since they get used as exposition-catalysts way too much. I want Teyla and her people to be back in the fore, how USEFUL she and they would be in reestablishing relations with all the other planets and trading partners once Atlantis gets back to Pegasus (especially if they got cut off from Earth again. Okay I'm literally just describing Written By The Victors again here I can't help it!!!) I want her to have genuine friendships with other female characters that aren't just 'we need to move the plot forward with some exposition' (SGA does pass the Bechdel test in a few episodes to be fair but I almost feel that's by accident honestly, I think it's literally always to drive the plot forward via dialogue and never just to have them be hanging out shooting the shit like you get with John & Rodney). I WANT SATEDAN CULTURE PLEASE I want to know more about their art and songs and commerce and world c'moooooon (I'm literally writing a thing about this rn because!!!) Ronon is so criminally under-used as a PERSON in this show oh my god, so I want him to have more to do than just not understanding shit because he isn't unintelligent, christ. Does anyone in the show EVER ask him what HIS favourite song is?! Or what he likes to do?! And also just, I haven't even got to McShep yet, but I'm a slow burn lots and lots of subtext and neither of them naming it will-they-are-they-what-is-this? sort of person so nothing would even explicitly happen until the last 'episode' of this thing I'm apparently now in charge of. The pier scene from the Shrine except a whole season of that mood, where you know what's going on but it's this quiet, understated intimacy that blooms, not in the forefront, just, a nice development of a thing rumbling along. (Yes I would yeet the Rodney/Jennifer thing sorry not sorry, haha.) I went REALLY OFF BRIEF HERE but oh my god I think what I love about SGA in a twisted way is the lost potential (aka thank fuck for fic). It doesn't have to be a big enemy of the week drama for it to be interesting and good and engaging - I crave the small moments, treating the characters with respect and not caricaturing them (looking at you season 5 episodes that shall go nameless unless someone asks me about them at which point I will gladly write a thesis) so yeah, fund me amaz*n I'll write your show for you

22. A fic you would be buried with since it's so good, you'd read it over and over until the end of time. This is VERY difficult to answer because I have a handful that I read over and over and over. Oh man. Oh man! Okay, picking one at random, The Suite Life by Cartwrite. It's literally what I described above almost - this slow paced, slice of life thing that has no huge peril but is this comforting exploration of the development of a relationship with perfect characterisation and real warmth and that is my absolute VIBE for all eternity.

22 notes • Posted 2021-09-20 18:45:28 GMT

The Rod-Straight Highway by goldleaf

It’s a heated tactical retreat, really. Shrubs, ruins. Gate, over there, somewhere, Rodney had waved his arm vaguely and almost got his fingers shot off.

***

I did it! Another Fictober prompt in October!

This one is for prompt 8: This is it, isn't it?

22 notes • Posted 2021-10-31 19:44:01 GMT

The Golden Hour by goldleaf

John sits down heavily having retrieved more drinks; they slip and slop on the little tray he’s liberated from one of the locals and he’s loose and giggly in that way that he gets which is never and he doesn’t seem to notice or care that his thigh is pressed up against Rodney’s and Rodney thinks, I’m not drunk enough for this, and downs his (worryingly fruity) drink in one swallow because he might as well make a start.

***

Fictober Prompt 11: "I swear, it's not always like this."

22 notes • Posted 2021-10-10 18:49:24 GMT

Hello friends please grant me the strength and I mean really send those vibes out into the aether because I’ve still not rewatched Vegas since like 2014 and I just need the emotional fortitude okay because it’s been so long that it’ll be like watching it for the first time again and i can’t HANDLE IT

28 notes • Posted 2021-09-27 21:21:57 GMT

I've found myself drawn back into the SGA fandom after 8 or so(?) years. Is it cheating to ask for your tumblr crushes? Or at least some good SGA McShep-leaning blogs/authors to follow?

Sorry for the delay in replying Anon! Welcome back to the fandom! (I say, having been here ten minutes.) OH MAN like, my entire friends list are some excellent McShep/Atlantis folks and my dash is a wondrous cornucopia of content on the daily! @a-storm-of-roses @alienfuckeronmain @carsonsweebabyturtles @cassiope25 @hewwwwkayyyy @mckaysrodney @sparrowsarus @atlantis-scribe @dedkake@perfica @chaos-monkeyy @frankthesnek TO NAME BUT A FEW of the insanely talented people gracing my screen at any given moment whose blogs I recommend clicking on if you're in the market for beautiful fic and art and discourse and posts and that sweet McShep and Atlantis content we all not-so-secretly crave <3

59 notes • Posted 2021-10-04 20:35:03 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

#I did the thing #Inadvertent reccing of my own fic there heheuhaueh #none of these results surprised me I don’t talk much but when I do it’s sga 👍

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wormholxtreme · 3 years

Note

Is there any ship / otp / dynamic you wish you had more threads & interactions for?

Random Anons | Always Accepting

Why? You got an idea for me babe? [please get the flirt tone because I am being a meme XD]

Aaaaaaaaanyway

I am honestly the most singler shipper multishipper you will ever meet. I typically go for canon ships that I love and a few ships that are not canon but heavily implied. Roy/Riza from Full Metal, even Carol/Tony, which are my OTP for Marvel was not only a canon ship in the Ults verse but heavily implied during comic Civil War-616 when Hank Pym asked Janet if she thought they were bangin’.

Typically when I do start shipping something that’s not canon they tend to follow the dynamic of my favorite canon ships.

Other than that, I don’t really seek out ships/dynamics. I’ve done a little with my OC Kaylee because of the nature of being an OC but even that, when I first brought her on tumblr it was for a completely platonic relationship. Then she ended up basically being set up (XD here’s lookin’ at you Ginger) with another OC and that partner would create more OCs and kinda just threw them at each other to see what stuck. And then because I am adamant about Kaylee being bisexual I wanted to open up to others not just one partner. Not that I was actively seeking again but just more putting out feelers more than I usually do because I am not the biggest shipper in the world.

It’s really about comfort level. Once I have a good rapport with someone OOC I am happy to delve into any ship dynamic they are interested in.

That being said, I defs need more threads with Kayday, all the threads with Raylee.

Of course more Peppy threads but XD iunno if you guys have noticed 99% of my Happy threads ARE Peppy threads.

I’m really excited about the Katniss/Peeta things I have going on, especially since The Hunger Games books are in Katniss’ pov there’s so much to explore internally for Peeta.

I have my less used characters like Aya who I’d kill for a Bayak for.

Cole Turner of course with Phoebe, despite how Charmed tried to ruin him

A Leo for Piper just v.v

And there is one ship that I have for John Sheppard who is my ace ace from outer space because there’s one character who had been there for like 2 episodes that had crazy good chemistry in my opinion named Larin and just XD the dynamic was very much in line with my favorite types of ships.

I think that about covers it. I’m sorry I’m not that interesting when it comes to ships. I wish I could be more XDD but there we have it.

#[out of muse; ooc]#long post #Anonymous

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personally-im-feeling-pantastic · 4 years

Text

Stargate Atlantis Rewatch Season 1 Episode 11: The Eye

Rodney just stepped in between Kolya’s gun and Weir (not like as he was shooting or anything, they were still having a conversation where they were trying to convince him not to kill Elizabeth, but still)

Sora is also now trying to convince him not to kill Weir.

Whew, Rodney managed to convince him not to kill Weir.

And now John thinks that Weir is dead, so that’s great. Also, he’s probably going to go tell everyone in the jumper.

How do three grown adults, one of which being a scientist not know what the eye of a storm is?

And the Genii have figured out how to use the life signs detector in the city (but haven’t found any pocket sized ones), and are trying to use teamwork to track down Sheppard. Sheppard has a handheld life signs detector, and is evading them.

Also, Rodney hopefully has a plan to both fix the grounding tower and get rid of Kolya.

John, babe, what the hell are you doing?

Okay, they just forgot what the eye of a storm was in the panic, which is understandable.

John’s hanging in the rafters. Man after my own heart.

It’s kinda hard to make a secret plan in front of your guard when you have to yell to be heard by your co conspirator.

The infamous DON’T TOUCH box!

Also love John’s face when he’s looking at this. Like “am I really gonna do this?” and “I’ll never hear the end of this, even if I don’t fuck everything up.”

Love that the Genii are just so fed up with him. “What’s he done now” They don’t even really care about him as someone who has killed their people anymore, it’s just like he’s caused them another annoyance (he turned the power off to the control room, that’s what he did btw).

Teyla, Carson, and Ford just arrived!!! With their own life signs detector!

“How do we know which [dot is] the Major?”

“He’ll be the dot getting rid of the other dots.”

Honestly, this line feels like it’s super iconic, even though I couldn’t remember it until it was said.

I am honestly so shocked that Sheppard did this, because it seems like a whole different kind of warfare (like the war crimes kind), but Sheppard just put up the shield to the gate while the Genii’s reinforcements were coming in, which means that almost all sixty of the people walking into the gate on the other side are going to die, and they’re just going to keep walking in because there’s no way to tell that the shield’s up.

That was honest to god horrifying. My mouth is still hanging open.

Ford is getting darker and darker as this show/story arc goes on. I don’t think I noticed it when I first watched this, or if I did, I didn’t notice the significance.

John, I don’t think that you should be giving Ford any more encouragement to be harming people this episode.

Okay okay I know that this is an Emotionally Significant moment/fight involving grief, but my horny wlw lizard brain cannot stop thinking homoerotic knife fight hot homoerotic knife fight hot homoerotic knife fight hot homoerotic

“I DON’T KNOW IF YOU’VE NOTICED, BUT I’M AN EXTREMELY ARROGANT MAN WHO TENDS TO THINK ALL OF HIS PLANS WILL WORK”

God, Teyla just threw a knife down into the floor so hard that it stuck there...not stabbed it by the way, she threw it.

Why is Rodney’s bandage over his sleeve? Like not even his shirt sleeve, his jacket sleeve too. At least like twelve hours after they saved the city.

Oh, that explains this, Rodney bandaged his arm himself, and this either means that he doesn’t know how to do this, he was trying to get maximum attention, or, more likely, both.

I should mention that Rodney’s also walking with his arm held out in front of him, which I find inexplicably adorable.

#stargate #stargate atlantis #sga rewatch #sga #teyla emmagan #sora #kolya #the genii #elizabeth weir #carson beckett #lieutenant ford #rodney mckay #john sheppard

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fand0mfancies · 4 years

Text

Came across this on Tumblr a few days ago, it amused me for a couple of hours or more, filling it in, while watching QI.

Fandom Questions

1. What was the first fandom you got involved in?

Star Trek: Voyager, I suppose at least for reading. Started writing with Stargate SG-1.

2. What is your latest fandom?

I dip in and out of lots of fandoms on and off, the most recent ‘pick up’ is Ballam from Eastenders, I don’t watch soaps, but Robron and Ballam both appear a good bit on my tumblr, so I eventually gave in to checking them out via fic and youtube – thank god for youtube, lol! I still don’t watch soaps, but I watch those storylines!

3. What is the best fandom you’ve ever been involved in?

Gosh, that’s... actually no that’s really easy. Primeval. For anyone not familiar, it’s a ‘silly little dinosaur show’ produced in the UK. It had 4 short seasons, with a somewhat revolving main cast – although they managed to keep 3 of them through all 4 seasons – but the fandom was/is amazing. I made life long friends through the fandom and even though I don’t write much any more I still read some and still talk with those people.

4. Do you regret getting involved in any fandoms?

I would say no. I can’t say every fandom has always been amazing – ship wars anyone! – but mostly fandom has been a very positive experience in my life.

5. Which fandoms have your written fanfiction for?

How long have you got... in genuinely no particular order (basically as they came to me) Stargate SG-1, Stargate Atlantis, Star Trek (TNG, DS9, Voy, Ent & Reboot Movies), Marvel, Kingsman, Person of Interest, Due South, Quantum Leap, Firefly, Buffy/Angel verse, Harry Potter, The Sentinel, Torchwood(/Doctor Who), Hawaii Five-0, Shadowhunters, Sherlock, Primeval, Emmerdale (Robron), NCIS, CSI (Vegas, NY & Miami), White Collar, Empire Records, Bull, Diagnosis Murder, MacGyver (the original), 1-800-Missing, CHAOS, Without a Trace, M*A*S*H, Charmed, Queer as Folk (US), Will & Grace, Bring it On, Nash Bridges, Magnificent 7 (TV series), House, Babylon 5 – I think I got them all... a few of those were one time only deals, but a lot of them have more (anywhere from 2-52 (or more still!) ranging from 100 word drabbles, to thousands of words – hey I’ve been writing fic for 21 years... you tend to amass a lot of fandoms...

6. List your OTP from each fandom you’ve been involved in.

Oh geez, here we go, lol! Okay...

Stargate SG-1: Jack O’Neill/Daniel Jackson

Stargate Atlantis: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard

Star Trek: Elim Garak/Julian Bashir, Chakotay/Tom Paris, Jonathan Archer/Malcolm Reed, James Kirk/Spock – I don’t particularly have an ‘otp’ in TNG, the couple I’ve written were Picard/Data, I’ve also dabbled reading Data/Gordi)

Marvel: Steve Rogers/Tony Stark

Kingsman: Harry Hart/Eggsy Unwin

Person of Interest: Harold Finch/John Reese

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray K

Quantum Leap: Sam/Al

Firefly: Malcolm Reynolds/Simon Tam

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Giles, Angel/Spike, Xander/Spike, Willow/Tara

Harry Potter: Harry/Draco, Harry/Hermione, Harry/Hermione/Draco

The Sentinel: Jim/Blair

Torchwood: Jack/Ianto

Hawaii Five-O: Steve/Danno

Shadowhunters: Magnus/Alec

Sherlock: Sherlock/John, Mycroft/Lestrade

Primeval: Nick Cutter/Stephen Hart, James Lester/Hilary Becker Emmerdale: Robert Sugden/Aaron Dingle

NCIS: Gibbs/DiNozzo CSI: Nick Stokes/David Hodges, Mac/Danny, Horatio/Speed White Collar: Neal/Peter/Elizabeth

Empire Records: Joe/Lucas

Bull: Benny/Jason

Diagnosis Murder: Steve/Jesse

I’ve left a few out where I don’t have particular OTPs

7. List your NoTPs from each fandom you’ve been in.

Here we go again... lol!

Stargate SG-1: Jack/Sam, I just... no. I’ve read a few where it’s a background or secondary pairing, but it always makes me wince a bit. I’ve read a few with Sam/Daniel as a secondary pairing that didn’t make me react that way and I’ve read Sam with other characters, but Jack/Sam just is a nope for me.

Stargate Atlantis: McKay/Keller – no, just no. that was horrible. She treated him like... awfully, trying to change him to suit her, just... no.

Marvel: Contentious, but Tony/Pepper, also Peter Parker/Tony Stark. Maybe because I saw the movies before I ever looked at the comics, but meh.

Due South: Benton Fraser/Ray V – again, contentious, but honestly I think Ray V was kind of a shit friend to Fraser.

Firefly: Anything with Jayne. No really, I just can not stand the character. I spent most of the series wanting to punch him in the face and sometimes you get characters you love to hate, but I just hated him.

Buffy/Angel Verse: Buffy/Spike, Willow/Kennedy

Harry Potter: Ron/Hermione, Ron/Harry, Harry/Ginny... basically, Ron and Ginny should just be loveless hermits who live by themselves. Ok, no, that isn’t fair... but as much as Ron was Harry’s first friend, he was selfish and bitter and Ginny/Harry just... never sat right with me. Ron literally says she spent ‘all summer talking about’ Harry, when she’d met him for all of three seconds. She didn’t know him. It always felt like she fell more in love with the *idea* of Harry Potter, than Harry Potter himself.

Sherlock: Sherlock/Molly, he’d eat her for breakfast. Serious, she’d never survive him.

Primeval: Oliver Leek and anyway. Arg. Creepy little dude is creepy and evil.

NCIS: Ziva/DiNozzo – ugh, just no.

Again, I’ve left out ones where I don’t have particular NoTPs

8. How did you get involved in your latest fandom?

Tumblr, god damned bitches posting gifs of pretty boys falling in love, roped me in!

9. What are the best things about your current fandom?

I dabble in several fandoms at once... but if we go by ‘most recently picked up’ as ‘current’ we’re talking Ballum, which hey, it’s always fun to have an actual canon pairing be my OTP, that’s rare for me, lol.

10. Is there a fandom you read fic from but don’t write in?

Well (so far) I haven’t written any Ballum. (I say so far, because I’m a realist, lol). I rarely read in fandoms and not end up writing in them at some point. Although I have probably dabbled in a few I’ve not written for, but if I read it with any sort of consistency, I mostly end up writing it. I am weak!

Ship Questions for your Current Fandom

11. Who is your current OTP?

Okay, so that list above, just basically go with that. While I do drop in and hour of fandoms and some I certainly read in more than others, I do tend to go back to fandoms... If we were talking about what I’m mostly focused on writing atm... Steve/Tony, Mycroft/Lestrade, Harry/Draco and Robron are ones I’m currently working on most.

12. Who is your current OT3?

I’m not currently writing anything that’s OT3 with any real focus. I have a couple of Neal/Peter/Elizabeth WiPs that I will at some point finish, but they aren’t a big focus just now. I did recently read a fabulous Neal/Peter/Elizabeth fic that’s been on my tbr list for ages.

13. Any NoTPs?

Just... see above, lol!

14. Go on, who are your BroTPs?

Harry Hart/Merlin, those two are Bro’s until the end and I will fight you on this. Also, Eggsy/Roxy! OMG they are such a BroTP! And Tony/Pepper/Rhodey – I may no like Tony/Pepper as a pairing, but I love them as best friends and of course, our Rhodes, because again, I will fight you on this, they are awesome and Tony needs his best friends!

15. Is there an obscure ship which you love?

I’m not sure there is. I suppose I’ve read a few fics for some random pairings over the years, but nothing that’s made me really ship-ship them. I like Clint Barton/Bucky Barnes, after seeing it as a secondary pairing in a Steve/Tony fic, but I’ve seen that pop up a few times since, so maybe it won’t stay obscure for long!

16. Are their any popular ships in your fandom which you dislike?

Jack/Sam, Tony/Pepper, Ron/Hermione, Harry/Ginny, Buffy/Spike – they all seem to be het pairings, oops. But I am mostly a slash fic reader/writer, so I suppose that’s not too surprising.

17. Who was your first OTP and are they still your favourite?

Jack/Daniel from Stargate SG-1. I still love them. I still read them, although it has been a while since I’ve written them on their own (I have got some SG-1/SGA x-overs where they feature)

18. What ship have you written the most about?

I’m genuinely not sure... without going and counting (and I’m not going any counting!) I’d guess Jack/Daniel, McKay/Sheppard, Jack/Ianto and Steve/Danno.

19. Is there a ship which you wished you could get behind, but you just don’t feel them?

No, not that I can think off. I either like it or not. I do occasionally feel bad for not reading a fic if it’s an author I really like, but I don’t read that fandom or pairing, but nothing specific.

20. Any ships which you surprised yourself by liking?

Robron and Ballum, lol. I do not do soaps!

Author Questions

21. What was the first fanfic you ever wrote?

Stargate SG-1, Jack/Daniel, a story called The Dare, The Disaster, The Almost Happy Ending, And The Very Happy Ending – it was awful. Don’t go looking, lol!

22. Is there anything you regret writing?

Don’t we all? No, I wouldn’t specifically say so. There are certainly fics, especially older ones, I wish I could have written better, but nothing I’d go, ugh I should never have done that.

23. Name a fic you’ve written that you’re especially fond of & explain why you like it.

Uh... honestly that’s really hard. I... um... yeah, I don’t know, really. I wrote a nice little flower one in POI that I felt worked rather beautifully. The Language of Flowers. An I wrote an SGA fic for NaNo a few years ago, called A Different Life, but it’s not online, because I didn’t finish it yet and I knew I wasn’t going to finish it any time soon, so I didn’t feel it was fair to leave it up unfinished (there is a reason I don’t read WiP fics and I don’t post them either, because I know how much I hate unfinished WiPs) Edit: After writing this I reminded myself of a POI fic I wrote called Hours of Separation – It’s a Harold/John break up story that I always intended to write a sequel too where I ‘fixed’ them, but I just couldn’t do it. I broke them a little too well. But I really love it actually.

24. What fic do you desperately need to rewrite or edit?

The afore mentioned A Different Life needs to be edited and finished, lol! Also a Primeval fic with the working title Crypt Keeper (don’t ask) that I worked myself into a bit of a corner on and I figure out how to fix it, but I haven’t done it yet, so it’s still needs fixing and finishing, lol!

25. What’s your most popular fanfic?

I haven’t the foggiest.

26. How do you come up with your fanfic titles?

Sometimes, really easily, a quote, a line from the fic, a song title... other times it’s like pulling teeth, hence working titles on things like ‘crypt keeper’ which is a reference to one scene near the very start and has no actual hint of the plot, lol!

27. What do you hate more: Coming up with titles or writing summaries?

Oh the titles. Summaries you can just copy a few lines from the fic if you are desperate, if you had to post ‘untitled mcshep fic #67’ people would get cranky, lol, hell I’d get cranky!

28. If someone were to draw a piece of fanart for your story, which story would it be and what would the picture be of?

Oh... I... huh. I mean who wouldn’t love fanart for their stories? Any of them honestly! But if I had to choose just one... I guess something in my Animal Instinct verse, which is Primeval (although I always intended to write other fandoms in the verse) where some people transform into animals, based on their ‘spirit animal’ and some art of the characters with their spirit animal form would be awesome.

29. Do you have a beta reader? Why/Why not?

Sometimes, look if you’ve read this far, you know I write in a lot of fandoms, lol. In some fandoms it’s easier than others to find beta readers. Also, sometimes if it’s just something short, I won’t bother. But I do try for my longer fics.

30. What inspires you to write?

That old adage, if you want to read it, sometimes you just have to write it? Spite? Boredom? Honestly sometimes I just have ideas I have to get out of my brain and it’s write or go mad(der)

31. What’s the nicest thing someone has ever said about your writing?

That it inspired them to write something.

32. Do you listen to music when you write or does music inspire you? If so, which band or genre of music does it for you?

Sometimes, sometimes I find it distracting when writing because I end up singing along and forgetting what I’m writing, lol! I do sometimes get inspiration from songs, I guess mostly from the lyrics, but no particular band or genre – although I listen to a lot of country music!

33. Do you write oneshots, multi-chapter fics or huuuuuge epics?

Little from column a, little from column b... littler still from column c...

34. What’s the word count on your longest fic?

Around 60k, I think.

35. Do you write drabbles? If so, what do you normally write them about?

I have. Primeval had/has a week drabble challenge, mostly when I’ve written drabbles it’s been for a challenge, with a specific prompt.

36. What’s your favourite genre to write?

Uh... I mean, my fandoms really span the genres, but I guess sci-fi or crime are probably my favourites.

37. First person or third person - what do you write in and why?

Third mostly, I have occasionally written in first person, if it felt like the fic needed it.

38. Do you use established canon characters or do you create OCs?

Little from column a, little from column b... it depends on the fandom and the story. Sometimes you just need more characters, mostly they are minor roles, I don’t tend to write much established character/oc fic

39. What is your greatest strength as a writer?

Ability to convince myself people will want to read it, lol! No actually to be honest, I love to know people read and like my stuff, but I gave up a long time ago on trying to ‘please’ people with what I write. I write what I want to read.

40. What do you struggle the most with in your writing?

Focus. The problem with 21 years of fandom history, is well... 21 years of fandom history. A lot of fandoms, a lot of pairings and as I say, I never really ‘leave’ a fandom, I just drop in and out and sometimes that means I’ll write on something consistently for weeks or months and then end up getting distracted by another fandom again and not touch it for weeks or months again. Hence, I don’t post WiP fics, because I know I’m easily distracted and don’t want anyone to suffer my lack of focus but me.

Fanfiction Questions

41. List and link to 5 fanfics you are currently reading:

I don’t read WiP fics, so yeah... but 5 I’ve recently read in different fandoms that I’ve really enjoyed

Turns Out, I Have a Rose Garden by betheflame (Steve Rogers/Tony Stark)

Lucky by china_shop (Neal Caffery/Peter Burke/Elizabeth Burke)

Colors by Quesarasara (Sherlock/John)

Betrayal by Blackghost7 (Gibbs/DiNozzo)

Matchmaker (Part 1 of the Marmalade Series) by HastaLux, Mottlemoth (Mycroft Holmes/Greg Lestrade)

42. List and link to 5 fanfiction authors who are amazing:

See now this is hard, because... ahh so many...

FredBassett – Primeval author, her Stephen/Ryan series is epic and brilliant and endless

https://archiveofourown.org/users/fredbassett/pseuds/fredbassett

Keira Marcos – I know other people will have said her, I don’t care. I love all her stuff, across all the fandoms she writes in

http://keiramarcos.com/

theapplepielifestyle – her Steve/Tony is amazing. Hands down some of the best I’ve ever read. I will fight you on this.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/theappleppielifestyle/pseuds/theappleppielifestyle

JillyJames – her Tony DiNozzo is a real life grown up... exactly as he should be considered given he’s a goddamn federal agent!

https://jillyjames.com/

missbecky – I’ve read pretty much all her Steve/Tony and Harry/Eggsy and it’s awesome.

https://archiveofourown.org/users/missbecky

Honestly, I could have listed so many more, but, I’m being good!

43. Is there anyone in your fandom who really inspires you?

Everyone. The thing is, fandom at it’s best is like crack, the more you get, the more you want. The writing, the gifs, the art... it feeds you and makes you want to make more of it, because more of it needs to exist and if that means you need to do it yourself, so be it!

44. What ship do you feel needs more attention?

ALL OF THEM!

45. What is your all time favourite fanfic?

Oh hell no, not even, I can not. It took me an hour to narrow down 5 authors, I can not narrow down one fanfic!

46. If someone was to read one of your fanfics, which fic would you recommend to them and why?

I mean, it depends on what they like... probably the Hour of Separation I mentioned above, if they like the fandom/pairing, or my Animal Instinct stuff.

47. Archive Of Our Own, Fanfiction.net or Tumblr - where do you prefer to post and why?

Archive of our Own. I haven’t touched ff.net in *years* since they started getting super restrictive about what you could post. I do occasionally post stuff to tumblr, but mostly I now post to AO3. I did have my own site and I’ve yet to upload a lot of stuff to AO3 – one of these... months... that will be a project – but it’s amazing. Seriously, having been in fandom 20+ years, going from having to search all over a million different places and now it’s all in one place, where we’re honestly, spoiled and protected. The kids now have no idea how crazy impossible that once seemed.

48. Do you leave reviews when you read fanfiction? Why/Why not?

Yes, but not as often as I should. I love AO3s kudos button, so I can sort of say ‘hey I enjoyed this’ without having to comment, because I sort of hate leaving comments just going ‘hey I enjoyed this’ because I always feel like I should say more, like, oh I enjoyed this specific thing, which yes is an unnecessary hang-up, but there ya go.

49. Do you care if people comment/reblog your writing? Why/why not?

Of course it’s nice to get comments, kudos, reblogs etc. I’m not as attached to them now as I was when I was younger, because I learned along the way that it was more important that I like what I’m writing than that other people do, but it’s still nice to know that something I’ve created is enjoyed.

50. How did you get into reading and/or writing fanfiction?

I went looking for Star Trek Voyager stuff online, pics etc, waaaaaaay back when! And I came across fanfiction entirely by accident... and I read some – het stuff mostly, then I started watching Stargate SG-1, went looking for fanfiction for that, but was not on board with Jack/Sam, found Jack/Daniel went ‘huh really? That’s weird’ read it... and yeah... 21 years later... lol!

51. Rant or Gush about one thing you love or hate in the world of fanfiction! Go!

Ship Wars. No seriously, just don’t. Like, who the actual fuck cares. I like my ship, you like your ship. I don’t care if it’s canon or not. I don’t care if it’s popular or not. I don’t read my NoTPs, but I’d never dream of telling someone else not too. Yes I think they are terrible, bad, no good pairings, but that’s *my* opinion. Don’t try to change my mind and I won’t try to change yours. I avoid them like the actual plague. If someone starts that shit around me, I will shut it right down. You are a dick. Go to Jail. Do not pass Go. Do not collect £200.

#fandom life #fandom

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nephilimeq · 5 years

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John and Rodney finally kiss at the Atlantis holiday party...

John had been staring at Rodney from the corner of his eye all night. Rodney had dressed up a bit and it was...well, distracting wasn’t exactly the best word to use. He was wearing black slacks that clung to him very nicely and the suspenders only made it worse. His red tie was surprisingly cheerful...as was Rodney.

John was still nursing his glass of eggnog, but he knew that Rodney was finishing off his third, which seemed to annoy Radek, though he wasn’t entirely sure why. He thought he’d be more amused, because John was well aware that Radek had spiked the punch with his homemade Czech moonshine, which made American moonshine look like a kid’s drink.

Rodney was flirting openly with practically everyone, all loose-limbed and smiling, and he was slowly destroying John with every single flash of that brilliant smile of his.

Flirting with practically everyone.

As in, everyone except for John.

John had even worn one of his nicer blue shirts and kept it unbuttoned, but Rodney had managed to avoid him the entire evening, leaving John very much alone, or talking with either Teyla or Ronon, neither of who seemed all too interested in the festivities.

But now, as it wound down towards just after midnight, he finally meandered his way over to John, leaving in his wake many flushed and confused scientists and soldiers behind him. That was another thing he’d learned tonight: Rodney didn’t care if you were man or woman, you were equal opportunity.

Just...not John.

He glanced up from his drink as Rodney stumbled into him and then reached out and put a hand on his shoulder.

“Hey, take it easy there, Casanova,” he drawled, trying to swallow down some of the faint resentment that he wasn’t flirt worthy. “Unless you’re planning on charming everyone at once and having an orgy, you might wanna slow down on the eggnog.”

He said it a bit more biting than he should have, but Rodney, in his state, didn’t seem to notice it and said, “What? It’s just eggnog Sheppard. I had Zelenka give me some that wasn’t spiked.”

He lifted his drink towards him in a small salute...and John, not believing him, leaned in and sniffed.

Wait...what? There wasn’t even a breath of alcohol on his breath. Did that mean...

“What the hell, McKay?” he snarled, unable to keep the frustration from his tone. “You’re telling me that you’ve been flirting with everyone all night and you’re sober?”

Rodney nodded.

“Yep.”

Feeling equal parts the urge to kiss him and to punch him in the jaw, he ground his back teeth and turned to walk away, but then Rodney grabbed him by the upper arm and tugged him back towards him.

“You don’t honestly think I’m interested in any of them, do you?” he rhetorically asked, and then added, “It’s easy to flirt with people you don’t actually care about. It’s all about pressing the right emotional buttons and triggering certain chemosignals, and it’s all ridiculously easy when it’s coworkers who know that you’re going to treat them just like you did before. Besides, I needed the practice because it’s completely different when it’s about someone that you care about, someone that you don’t want to mess around with in a casual way, but in a--”

Unable to stop himself, John dropped his drink and reached up and slid his fingers around the base of the scientist’s neck and drew him in for a kiss.

Rodney gasped, but then leaned into it, one hand slowly coming up to John’s jaw and sliding down to his neck.

It was brief, but both of them were completely out of breath as their lips slowly pulled back. John kept his fingers on Rodney’s neck, lightly squeezing, and rested his forehead against his.

And then he whispered, finishing Rodney’s sentence, “In a serious way?”

Rodney nodded and swallowed.

“Yeah...exactly...”

They stood there for a moment and then John said, “I’m guessing we have an audience. Wanna take this back to my quarters? Oh, wait, yours, I guess, you need your mattress for your back,” but Rodney shook his head.

“No, your quarters are fine. You’re the one who’s gonna be on their back all night, after all. Or, you know...your front. Whichever way you prefer,” he murmured in a low voice and John felt his knees buckle.

Hell, yes.

Ignoring the smug looks sent in his direction, he dragged Rodney behind him by his infuriatingly red tie and didn’t let go of it until they were inside his room, and then he ripped it off.

Feeling his own smug grin stretch across his lips, he tied the silk to the outside of the door.

The instant the door closed, he smiled.

Happy Christmas to him.

#McShep #mckay #rodney mckay #sheppard #john sheppard #john and rodney #rodney and john #stargate atlantis #fan art #mcshep art #art npheq #ficlet #look at that you got a fic #mcshep fanfic #holiday fic

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moved--306389 · 5 years

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for the character ask: John Sheppard :D

Thank you!!

Btw, it’s been brought to my attention my ask box was deactivated. I’m not sure why, but I’ve fixed it now.

Character: John Sheppard (Stargate Atlantis)

1 - favorite thing about them: how well you can use this guy as a free template for all your angst. Seriously, he gets beat up, kidnapped, tied up and poisoned on the regular. He ticked off every single item in the whumptober list of prompts.

2 - least favorite thing about them:

Tbh I consider this to be more bad writting than a character flaw, but they wrote him as a walking military propaganda. When the plot goes in that direction and he’s no longer being funny and charming, he does so many horrible things you start to question how the fuck is he supposed to be the hero of the story.

3 - favorite line:

“You, Elizabeth, Ronon, Carson, even Rodney are the closest things I have to a…” “A family?” “I’d do anything, for anyone of you.”

4 - brOTP: The whole Stargate team, naturally, given the line I just picked. But specifically Ronon. He acts like such a big bro to him.

5 - OTP: No one, really, I quite frankly headcanon the guy as aroace.

6 - nOTP: Sheppard and Rodney, I guess? I know half the fandom ships it, but I honestly can’t see it, even if I thought John was allo. Not that it’s a bad ship, it’s just so popular in the fandom I got tired.

7 - random headcanon:

Well, I just mentioned I think he’s aroace. I also believe he is touch repulsed, considering he makes such an awkward face at every physical contact he gets, specially hugs.

8 - unpopular opinion:

Dude, but seriously, if you go by the canon, that guy is not a good person. The writers fucked up so many times, you can’t pretend otherwise. I mean. He was involved in a space concentration camp once, without a hint of irony?? Stargate, what the fuck.

10 - song i associate with them:

Solstice, by Starset

11 - favorite picture of them:

Bro, literally any picture of him. The guy is so fucking beautiful, that’s a bit undeniable.

#ask games #stargate atlantis #submission

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mylittleredgirl · 5 years

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What Can Even Be Said About “The Storm” And “The Eye” seriously it’s just 90 minutes of me squeezing a pillow and shrieking at the TV. We’re flashing back to LJ era so let me say the rest of this will be “behind the cut”:

General Highlights:

Everyone Wet Pretty Gnnngghghgh Okay, so. Young friends. Before this episode, stills were released. Everyone’s soaking wet. We don’t know why. Forget the episodes themselves, I have still never recovered from that.

By Walk I Mean Run: The banter is so good in “The Storm.” It’s setting up this vibe where there’s a parallel episode when John, Rodney, Elizabeth, and the two marines hang out and play cards for ten hours while the storm rages and nobody gets killed or taken hostage and they have a good time. I want that for them. I mean, for me I want them to suffer in really attractive ways, but they could all use a rain day from work.

Nice Job Special FX Team: It’s been 15 years and the water effects still hold up pretty well!

Even Nicer Job Practical FX Team: How did they not have to cancel filming for a month while everyone recovered from pneumonia??

John Sheppard’s Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad Day:

Maybe I Should Do The Negotiating From Now On: You know, if Sheppard and Ford hadn’t threatened Smeeden, would he have even contacted the Genii? I mean, probably, but I’m sure it didn’t help.

KOLYAAAAAAA

I Am Going To Kill You: The little pause he takes, blinking in the rain, after he finds out that she’s dead before he takes a breath and heads into the fray -- MY HEART.

John Sheppard Is Very Good At His Job: Can we just appreciate that he essentially singlehandedly saves the city? This pilot knows how to fight on the ground and I am IMPRESSED.

Let Me Talk To Her: Everything changes on a dime here and I love it I LOVE IT. He runs straight from here into an ambush because suddenly there’s a chance to save her and he knows what it’s like to have failed to save her and like I’m not even pretending this is About The Romance because he has had zero seconds to think about this but you’d better bet that he never sees her the same way again after this.

I’m Not Aiming At Her: I’m honestly surprised he didn’t shoot Kolya in the head, but then I was distracted because he grabs her haaaaaaaaand.

I Can’t Give Everyone Their Own List So:

I Take It Back They’re No Longer My NoTP: Rodney and Elizabeth are great together throughout this and I’ve been really appreciating them during the rewatch. I don’t think it’s sexual, but he loves her. Her amused affection for him from day one is repaid here in spades -- not only does he step in front of a gun for her, but he’s got his arm around her while they’re in the rain waiting out the ten minutes until Kolya’s probably going to kill her, and it’s so sweet, in case anyone’s out there wondering, I might OT3 this now.

How’s This For Credibility: The actor whose name I’m not bothering to look up does a Really Good Job with this character. I like the little pauses he takes in key moments and we can see the decision being made -- specifically, when he decides to tell Sheppard that Weir is dead, and you know I love the moment when he decides to let Sheppard talk to her because Sheppard just blinked and Kolya’s found a weakness he can exploit. The character himself belongs as the lead a Shakespearean tragedy, because he’s literally won and then he sees the opportunity for greater power and seals his own doom. It’s all set up at the beginning when you can see him chafing against Cowan’s orders. GENII POLITICS I LOVE IT.

THEN END IT: So a big difference for me watching this now over fifteen years ago is that I’ve since lost a parent, and Sora’s reaction in “Underground” and her actions here have this real grief undercurrent that slays me. She fails to avenge her father and Teyla won’t kill her and UGH. I FEEL IT. WHY THE FUCK DIDN’T WE GET MORE SORA I’M STILL MAD ABOUT THIS.

Shut Up, Doctor Beckett: I love this man, don’t get me wrong, and it’s certainly not Ford’s finest hour, but sweet holy mother of pearl is Carson ever annoying in “The Eye.” When Sora knocks him out, I breathed a sigh of relief.

Teyla Emmagan Can Do No Wrong: That’s just the theme for Atlantis, honestly.

There Can Never Be Enough Fanfic About This Episode:

They sit in the storm for Many Hours once the shield goes up and for fifteen years, heroic fangirls have filled that time with lost and lots of closet sex. Honestly, though, I kind of want everyone to just surround Sheppard in a six hour group hug.

#there's so much more here this just scratches the surface of my love for this episode #it holds up man it HOLDS UP #atlantis rewatch #sparktober

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valdomarx · 3 years

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La Campanella

McShep + Rodney plays the piano Rodney never could resist a challenge, especially when it’s set by Sheppard.

Atlantis is a place of many wonders, but Rodney's favorite is this:

In a distant part of the northern pier is a short, squat tower which he and Sheppard investigate on a routine patrol.

And in that tower is a large, unassuming room like a lecture hall.

And in the center of the room is an object seven foot long and three feet high, elegant, delicate, and familiar.

“Is that…” Rodney practically runs over to touch it, as reckless as that urge can be in Atlantis, but he knows this isn’t a weapon or a piece of broken technology or some dangerous machine. It’s a thing of beauty.

It’s an instrument remarkably like a piano: white and black reversed, keys slightly different lengths, but the same 12-step configuration making up an octave. Keys which strike strings stretched over a wide frame with soft hammers, and this can’t be a coincidence.

“How... ” he starts, and then he answers his own question. “The Ancients must have invented this instrument and brought the concept with them to Earth. But that would overturn so much musical history they’ll have to rewrite the textbooks, can you even imagine the implications -”

John does not look as fascinated by the profound repercussions of this discovery on the history of western classical music as Rodney is.

He waves questions of history aside and sits on the low stool in front of the keyboard, blowing away the years of accumulated dust. His hands instinctively settle into arches, his wrists loose, and he plays a few simple scales. The notes sound out clear and true, but -

He frowns.

“Something wrong?” Sheppard is leaning over the instrument, studying him and it with interest.

“This is tuned half a tone lower than an Earth piano. Feels a bit weird, that’s all.”

“How do you know that?”

Rodney affects his smuggest smile. “Perfect pitch, obviously.”

“Obviously,” Sheppard says, rolling his eyes.

Rodney looks around the room furtively, keen for reasons he can’t articulate that no one else should observe them, and he starts to play.

It becomes a habit, a place to unwind, somewhere they visit on off hours and in quiet moments.

Today Sheppard is flicking through a golf magazine while Rodney warms up with some Bach. The music is pleasing and orderly, and the sparse, bright notes explode in fractal-like patterns, unfurling and changing and becoming more complex the closer you look.

John tilts his head to one side and says, “You know there’s a whole bunch of classical music on the Atlantis server?”

Rodney grins. He did know that, in fact. Never get between a team of scientists and their file sharing. “I may have heard.”

“I listened to some of the Chopin you like. Then some other piano stuff as well.”

“Yeah?” Rodney picks at a fingernail. Something about the idea of John listening to music just because Rodney likes it makes his heart beat a little faster. “Find anything you liked?”

“A bunch actually. Have you heard of a piece called La Campanella? By a guy named Liszt?"

"Have I…" Has he heard of the single hardest piece in the entire solo piano repertoire? The fact he could never get those double stops right haunts him to this day. "Yeah, it rings a bell."

"I like that one," John says decisively. "It's nice."

Nice??? Sheppard thinks the most epic and demanding piece of all time is nice? Of course he does.

"You should learn to play it," John says casually, like he's suggesting they watch an action movie instead of a scifi.

"I should -" he splutters. "Do you have any idea how difficult that is? It's practically impossible."

John smirks and says, "I thought practically impossible was your specialty?"

Rodney is still spluttering when John throws him a wink and walks out.

And then, because despite being the finest mind in two galaxies, on some level he truly is an idiot, he stretches out his fingers and starts to practice.

It's not like he had copious free time to start with. But he makes space whenever he can to come to the piano room, chipping away at this ludicrous piece, bit by bit, phrase by phrase, over and over and over.

People think that learning to play is artistry, and maybe it is that too, but mostly it's a grind. You keep doing it again and again until you get it right. It's as much about stubbornness as about skill.

And stubbornness is something Rodney McKay has in abundance.

Liszt really was a sadistic old bastard, Rodney thinks sourly as he works on the right hand jumps until his fingers turn to lead.

Sometimes Sheppard comes and sits with him while he practices, and on those days he plays easier pieces, things which are familiar and casual. Not that John seems to pay much attention, but Rodney has the urge to impress him all the same.

He’s always having that urge around John.

He spends an entire week working on his goddamn trill.

It shouldn’t matter and it’s not like anyone will really listen to it. But it seems to represent something important — a sequence of paired adjacent notes, next to each other but never quite touching, bouncing off each other time and time again, a dance of two — though he doesn’t want to examine that too closely.

He doesn’t tell anyone else about the piano. He tells himself that’s because it’s convenient that he doesn’t have to share and can use it whenever he wants.

But really, he likes that it’s his and Sheppard’s; their own tiny secret in this vast and sprawling city.

He hears the piece in his sleep, and on missions, and when he’s working in his lab. It becomes a background hum of his brain, always there, a sort of yearning for the possible, the platonic ideal, the way that things could be.

He tries not to examine that too closely either, though the weight of the realization is becoming harder to ignore.

Eventually the piece is as ready as it's going to be. He scribbles a quick note during a meeting, folds it into a paper airplane, and throws it at Sheppard's head. He hits him right in the temple, and he manages to avoid cheering when Elizabeth glares at him.

I have something to play for you, the note reads. Meet you at 7? You know where. - R

He jots it down without really thinking, and only once he's thrown does it occur to him how soppy it sounds.

John doesn't seem too perturbed though. He smiles down at the note and meets Rodney's eye with a little eyebrow wiggle which Rodney takes to mean, Gonna impress me?

By the time John arrives, Rodney is all warmed up and more nervous than he's ever been about a performance. His heart is racing, and when John gives him a fond look and says, "Hey," it trips even faster.

Once he settles in to play though, there's a certain kind of mental clarity that settles over him. His hands know how to do this, he just has to sit back and let them.

His wrists are still tense as he sounds out the first few bars and then, all at once, he relaxes into it and lets the music carry him. Hours of repetition have made every chord, every melody, every insane and unreasonable jump into something almost effortless. He even forgets John is there: there’s only him, and the piano, and the music.

The music builds and builds, each section becoming more and more ornamented, more complex, more physically demanding, all at a relentless pace that sends most players reeling. But he's got this, he can do this, it turns out all he needed was a bit of motivation.

The penultimate section is his favorite: The technical parts are done and here he can throw himself into the wild, over the top glory of the final melody. And perhaps he shows off a little bit, catching John's eye and grinning at him, but that's all part of the fun.

The piece ends with a crashing, massive finale that makes him feel like a virtuoso, and then in a last few epic chords it's done, as tight and perfect a five minutes as you could wish for.

The final chord reverberates on and on through the stillness of the room, glowing out beyond the city and into the night.

"Wow." John's eyes are wide. "That was great."

Rodney preens, because that ineloquent little comment somehow means more to him than an auditorium full of ecstatic applause. Having John look at him like that makes the months of practice worth it.

"You liked it?" He's fishing for compliments, but he figures he's earned it.

"I did," John says, staring at Rodney's hands like they hold the secrets to the universe.

He looks up and blushes at having been caught staring. Then he deflects and shrugs one shoulder. “Honestly, though, it’s not my favorite piano piece.”

Rodney narrows his eyes. He has the distinct impression he’s been played. “What was your favorite then?”

"I prefer Songs Without Words."

"Mendelssohn?" he explodes. "You wanted Mendelssohn? Jesus Christ, I learned to play that when I was eight!"

John grins. "I appreciate simplicity in music."

"Then why on earth did you make me learn Liszt?!"

John has this joyous, manic light in his eyes, like he's having the time of his life here, messing around with Rodney, of all the things he could be doing. "I like watching you do impossible things."

He sucks in a breath. "I hate you."

"No you don't." John leans in, smug and delighted, and oh, Rodney is so in love with this ridiculous, infuriating man that he could burst. "You learned La Campanella for me."

"It wasn't that hard," he says quickly, because he has a reputation to maintain here. But John laughs and gives him this soft, teasing look, one eyebrow quirked at a ridiculous angle beneath the chaotic mess of his hair, and Rodney is defenseless.

"Whatever you say, McKay," John says, and Rodney has the feeling he sees straight through him. "Now play it again."

#mcshep #stargate atlantis #my writing #where my fellow classical music nerds at this one is for you

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