Keep Hoping Machine Running (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
thefourthvine) wrote2005-05-04 07:52 pm
thefourthvine) wrote2005-05-04 07:52 pm
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Slashy Nominations 116: Speaking in Tongues
You know you love somebody, be it in a friendly or romantic or familial way, when you can turn to that person and make a comment that appears to all others to be a random assemblage of words, and that person laughs or pats you sympathetically or nods sincerely and offers another random word array that makes total sense to you. At least, that's how I know; private language is perhaps the ultimate symbol of closeness in my world. (This may just be because I don't make much sense most of the time, so I'm really touched when someone actually gets me at all. I still maintain that it works on a more general level, though.)
These stories are all about private language, be it the language of two or the language of one or the language of people stuck in a pocket universe with only their own brilliance and absurdity for company. (And, you know, someday I want to see a story like that for every fandom. Except Sports Night, where I think that's pretty much already true in the canon.)
Words. They're all we have to go on. Given certain fairly inclusive definitions of 'words.'
Best FF That Contains a Reference to The Night of the Hunter. Which Makes Me Wonder if Ray Has Seen the Movie. Or Fraser Has. D R A W N, by![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
serialkarma and lalejandra. Due South, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski. Isn't it lovely to see two people really communicating? Well, no, not when they're, say, the people behind you in a movie (the woman who repeated words at random from the dialog of Mission: Impossible to her husband with sinus problems, for example) or in line at the supermarket. ("I see where that boy is still on trial." "Isn't it Michael Jackson on trial?" "He's just after the money, you know." "Who?" "The boy. Michael Jackson wouldn't do that. He could do better." "Oh, I don't know. Maybe he did. What I say is, does it matter? They're all like that anyway." And meanwhile you're wondering a) is it contagious, b) will the checker understand if you abandon your half-unloaded groceries and flee the store, and c) why you don't carry a gun. Or at least, that's what you're wondering if you're me.) But it's pretty damn nice when it's Fraser and Kowalski, especially when they're communicating by means of drawing. On each other's skin. With ink. And how they do it is nice, too; Fraser telling a story using his own private, unspoken, unexplained language - because for a man who talks a lot he's not much with the communicating - and Ray keying into it intuitively - because for a detective he's not much with the logic. That's so them. A big part of the appeal of this pairing for me is that it involves two people no one has really listened to. And then they start listening to each other. And if that doesn't just make the tears of joy well up inside...well, you're probably not pre-menstrual, at any rate.
Best FF That Left Me Reaching for the Book on Animal Sounds in Other Languages That I Do in Fact Own. It's Like I Spent Years Preparing to Read This Story! Absurdity Theory, byjulad. Stargate: Atlantis, Rodney McKay/Radek Zalenka. So. If it quacks like a duck, but does not in fact look like a duck, what is it? In this case, two people paying a slightly higher-than-usual price for certain unkind comments. But, hey, if you know stuff, it doesn't matter that you can't talk to others; you can still entertain yourself with a Turing machine or the Theory of Universal Absurdity or lots of sex. This is why everyone needs science. (The sex. Though the entertainment is nice, too.) And everyone also needs this story, although you probably don't need it as much as I did when I first read it, because it was the perfect antidote to an unfortunate vid experience I had last week. Vidders, please: avoid the all talking heads, no action, no meaning blue-light-special vids. But if you're going to make one, for Christ's sake don't center and zoom in on those faces too far. Because you may find that dramatic, but all I see is nostrils. Gigantic, flagrant, unignorable nostrils. ("Nostrilriffic" is not a word I had previously been tempted to coin, but this vid - it needed adjectives as yet undiscovered in the English language.) And when a love song is wailing in the background but huge nostrils are flaring in the foreground, I am in an unhappy place. Or, actually, a seriously happy place and laughing myself sick, but that's probably not where the vid was supposed to take me. Worse, after I watched said vid, I couldn't read SGA without thinking mostly of nostrils, and it was inhibiting my new-fandom love. But then, fortunately, I found this story, which completely derailed the memory of hysterical nostrils via hysterical quacking, and also the honking, and also the Czech. So my love has returned. Healed by the magic of fan fiction!
Best FF That Reminds Us That No Matter How Strange and Illogical Our Own Culture's Marital Customs Are, It Could Always Be Worse. For Example, It Could Involve Parakeets. A Bird in the Hand Gets Tangled in the Sheets, by The Grrrl, akathegrrrl2002. Stargate: SG-1, Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson. You know, for someone whose whole life has been about communication, Daniel's private language is remarkably singular; no one speaks fluent Daniel Jackson. I love this story in part because it proves that that doesn't matter. Jack speaks enough and is patient enough, and the rest of it...works out. (For Daniel and Jack. Probably not so much for the men who had to do whatever-it-was involving birds after they married, which in my opinion goes a long way toward explaining why that particular culture died out. Marriage and birds are not an OTP.) The other reason I love this FF may say more about me than it does about the story, but who am I to shy away from writing down potentially revealing personal information and posting it in a searchable, public medium? I mean, I'm on Livejournal, here; oversharing is the name of the game. So I will not hesitate (except, you know, for all the preliminary verbiage, which is more of an art than an avoidance thing, really) to tell you that this story contains the sweetest and best declaration of love of all time. Really. Actually, it contains two of them, because the response is just as good and sweet and true. This is one of those short pieces I read whenever I'm feeling especially out of touch with the world; it reminds me that it doesn't matter if the world gets me. It only matters if one person cares enough to try. And, lord, the treacle is practically coming out of my ears, now, so we'd best move on to the Batworld, where things just don't get that sweet.
Best FF That Proves That There Are Modes of Attack Even Tim Drake Hasn't Anticipated. I Know, I Know - It's Crazy. But True! Obsessive, by Derry, akaderryderrydown. D.C Universe, Batclan, Batgirl/Robin III. Yet another story I love intensely, and not just because it incorporates both of my favorite Batclan characters. (Nightwing is a close third, though.) What I love is this look at Cass, who I suspect was introduced to the DCU solely so that there'd be one inhabitant harder to understand and write than Batman. (Because, look. I love him as much as the next girl, provided I get to pick who the next girl is, but the man is about one cerebral misfire away from Arkham Asylum. If that.) Cass spent much of her life mute, and she still prefers not to speak. Also, she fights crime. So I don't have much in common with her (I never shut up, and the closest I come to fighting crime is giving dirty looks to vocal movie attendees), but I still relate to the language Cass is speaking in this story. Body language shouldn't be a private language - we all speak it, we all read it - but a lot of the time it seems like it is, because so many people do all their body communication unconsciously. Sadly, I'm not as fluent in it as Cass is (I mean, I can't manipulate anyone with it. Tragically. Because if I could, you can bet world leaders would make a lot more sense.), but I'm more comfortable with that language than any of the other non-verbal ones. And the thing is? Once you start watching it, it really is this easy to read. I love that Derry gets that, and even if her Cass doesn't read bodies the same way I do, I read this again and again because it makes so much sense. I don't know if it will to you, but I don't think it matters. Even if you can't picture the conversations described in here, you should still read it for a look at the world through Batgirl's eyes.
These stories are all about private language, be it the language of two or the language of one or the language of people stuck in a pocket universe with only their own brilliance and absurdity for company. (And, you know, someday I want to see a story like that for every fandom. Except Sports Night, where I think that's pretty much already true in the canon.)
Words. They're all we have to go on. Given certain fairly inclusive definitions of 'words.'
Best FF That Contains a Reference to The Night of the Hunter. Which Makes Me Wonder if Ray Has Seen the Movie. Or Fraser Has. D R A W N, by
serialkarma and lalejandra. Due South, Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski. Isn't it lovely to see two people really communicating? Well, no, not when they're, say, the people behind you in a movie (the woman who repeated words at random from the dialog of Mission: Impossible to her husband with sinus problems, for example) or in line at the supermarket. ("I see where that boy is still on trial." "Isn't it Michael Jackson on trial?" "He's just after the money, you know." "Who?" "The boy. Michael Jackson wouldn't do that. He could do better." "Oh, I don't know. Maybe he did. What I say is, does it matter? They're all like that anyway." And meanwhile you're wondering a) is it contagious, b) will the checker understand if you abandon your half-unloaded groceries and flee the store, and c) why you don't carry a gun. Or at least, that's what you're wondering if you're me.) But it's pretty damn nice when it's Fraser and Kowalski, especially when they're communicating by means of drawing. On each other's skin. With ink. And how they do it is nice, too; Fraser telling a story using his own private, unspoken, unexplained language - because for a man who talks a lot he's not much with the communicating - and Ray keying into it intuitively - because for a detective he's not much with the logic. That's so them. A big part of the appeal of this pairing for me is that it involves two people no one has really listened to. And then they start listening to each other. And if that doesn't just make the tears of joy well up inside...well, you're probably not pre-menstrual, at any rate.Best FF That Left Me Reaching for the Book on Animal Sounds in Other Languages That I Do in Fact Own. It's Like I Spent Years Preparing to Read This Story! Absurdity Theory, by
julad. Stargate: Atlantis, Rodney McKay/Radek Zalenka. So. If it quacks like a duck, but does not in fact look like a duck, what is it? In this case, two people paying a slightly higher-than-usual price for certain unkind comments. But, hey, if you know stuff, it doesn't matter that you can't talk to others; you can still entertain yourself with a Turing machine or the Theory of Universal Absurdity or lots of sex. This is why everyone needs science. (The sex. Though the entertainment is nice, too.) And everyone also needs this story, although you probably don't need it as much as I did when I first read it, because it was the perfect antidote to an unfortunate vid experience I had last week. Vidders, please: avoid the all talking heads, no action, no meaning blue-light-special vids. But if you're going to make one, for Christ's sake don't center and zoom in on those faces too far. Because you may find that dramatic, but all I see is nostrils. Gigantic, flagrant, unignorable nostrils. ("Nostrilriffic" is not a word I had previously been tempted to coin, but this vid - it needed adjectives as yet undiscovered in the English language.) And when a love song is wailing in the background but huge nostrils are flaring in the foreground, I am in an unhappy place. Or, actually, a seriously happy place and laughing myself sick, but that's probably not where the vid was supposed to take me. Worse, after I watched said vid, I couldn't read SGA without thinking mostly of nostrils, and it was inhibiting my new-fandom love. But then, fortunately, I found this story, which completely derailed the memory of hysterical nostrils via hysterical quacking, and also the honking, and also the Czech. So my love has returned. Healed by the magic of fan fiction! Best FF That Reminds Us That No Matter How Strange and Illogical Our Own Culture's Marital Customs Are, It Could Always Be Worse. For Example, It Could Involve Parakeets. A Bird in the Hand Gets Tangled in the Sheets, by The Grrrl, aka
thegrrrl2002. Stargate: SG-1, Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson. You know, for someone whose whole life has been about communication, Daniel's private language is remarkably singular; no one speaks fluent Daniel Jackson. I love this story in part because it proves that that doesn't matter. Jack speaks enough and is patient enough, and the rest of it...works out. (For Daniel and Jack. Probably not so much for the men who had to do whatever-it-was involving birds after they married, which in my opinion goes a long way toward explaining why that particular culture died out. Marriage and birds are not an OTP.) The other reason I love this FF may say more about me than it does about the story, but who am I to shy away from writing down potentially revealing personal information and posting it in a searchable, public medium? I mean, I'm on Livejournal, here; oversharing is the name of the game. So I will not hesitate (except, you know, for all the preliminary verbiage, which is more of an art than an avoidance thing, really) to tell you that this story contains the sweetest and best declaration of love of all time. Really. Actually, it contains two of them, because the response is just as good and sweet and true. This is one of those short pieces I read whenever I'm feeling especially out of touch with the world; it reminds me that it doesn't matter if the world gets me. It only matters if one person cares enough to try. And, lord, the treacle is practically coming out of my ears, now, so we'd best move on to the Batworld, where things just don't get that sweet.Best FF That Proves That There Are Modes of Attack Even Tim Drake Hasn't Anticipated. I Know, I Know - It's Crazy. But True! Obsessive, by Derry, aka
derryderrydown. D.C Universe, Batclan, Batgirl/Robin III. Yet another story I love intensely, and not just because it incorporates both of my favorite Batclan characters. (Nightwing is a close third, though.) What I love is this look at Cass, who I suspect was introduced to the DCU solely so that there'd be one inhabitant harder to understand and write than Batman. (Because, look. I love him as much as the next girl, provided I get to pick who the next girl is, but the man is about one cerebral misfire away from Arkham Asylum. If that.) Cass spent much of her life mute, and she still prefers not to speak. Also, she fights crime. So I don't have much in common with her (I never shut up, and the closest I come to fighting crime is giving dirty looks to vocal movie attendees), but I still relate to the language Cass is speaking in this story. Body language shouldn't be a private language - we all speak it, we all read it - but a lot of the time it seems like it is, because so many people do all their body communication unconsciously. Sadly, I'm not as fluent in it as Cass is (I mean, I can't manipulate anyone with it. Tragically. Because if I could, you can bet world leaders would make a lot more sense.), but I'm more comfortable with that language than any of the other non-verbal ones. And the thing is? Once you start watching it, it really is this easy to read. I love that Derry gets that, and even if her Cass doesn't read bodies the same way I do, I read this again and again because it makes so much sense. I don't know if it will to you, but I don't think it matters. Even if you can't picture the conversations described in here, you should still read it for a look at the world through Batgirl's eyes.
no subject
Sheppard's also fond of ferris wheels, as he tells the Athosians when he first meets them. This is occasionally mentioned in fic.
Yes! How could I have forgotten the Ferris wheels? They're mentioned in, like, every other story I read. (And they also formed part of my basis for concluding that Sheppard doesn't reveal personal information or let people past the massive barriers he's constructed around himself; if that's the best thing he can come up with that he likes? The biggest, most revealing personal fact? Um. Either he spent the last twenty years sitting on a mountaintop in the lotus position, or he isn't big with the sharing. All the other things he likes seem to have been revealed during the canon, not said by him, so, you know - way to be open, Major Sheppard.)
Actually, Beckett has the gene naturally, but his command of it isn't as good as Sheppard's. This is possibly related to the fact that he accidentally fired a missile off when Rodney asked him to sit in the (above mentioned) command chair in Antarctica - he was dubious about Ancient technology beforehand, and firing a missile at the helicopter Sheppard was flying Jack down in didn't really help.
He has a really nice accent and can be a woobie sometimes.
Oh, this explains so much! (I take it he doesn't much care for wormhole travel, either?) So is it a confidence thing? Sheppard expects the best, usually, and is pretty confident, so he can command Ancient technology better? Because Carson seems very competent (if you ignore his hideous lack of sterile technique, at least in vids) but not all that confident, at least in the few stories and vids where I've encountered him.
I've only seen the first part of season one so far, but thus far she has shown no signs of any actual diplomatic skills - in fact, she has anti-diplomatic skills. From what I've heard things don't improve much over the season. Given that she's supposed to be a top diplomat, one can only wonder what the script writers were doing all season.
*joyous wriggle*
So it isn't just me, then! Because she seems so - well, you said it best: she's the anti-diplomat. She also seems to me to be the anti-leader. Everyone else comes across in FF and vids as highly competent, and she comes across as just - really tense and weak. She's the least in-command commander I've ever seen.
And yet another round of thanks to you for the Weir-recs, which I will be reading this weekend. She's a really tough character, I think, probably because of that little lapse on the part of the script writers, so a lot of the FF I've read about her has been - well, anyway. I'm very glad to have recs that expand on her canon character.
no subject
When I first started reading this fandom, every second story I read revolved around (or at least featured) Ferris Wheels in some way. Literally. (Thus the icon). One day, I'm going to go through my bookmarks and then post a collection to links to
Also, Rachael Sabotini (
no subject
No problem. :) And please, ask and comment away! I haven't seen all of season 1 yet (1.8 has just shown over here) but I know bits and pieces.
Yes! How could I have forgotten the Ferris wheels? (And they also formed part of my basis for concluding that Sheppard doesn't reveal personal information or let people past the massive barriers he's constructed around himself; if that's the best thing he can come up with that he likes? The biggest, most revealing personal fact? ... All the other things he likes seem to have been revealed during the canon, not said by him, so, you know - way to be open, Major Sheppard.)
Well, in his defense, they'd only just met:
TEYLA: We do not trade with strangers.
SUMNER: Is that a fact.
SHEPPARD: Well then we'll just... we'll have to get to know each other. Me, I like Ferris wheels, college football, anything that goes more than 200 miles per hour.
FORD: (whisper) Sir, that's not going to mean anything to them.
SHEPPARD: (whisper) Feel free to speak up. I'm just trying to break the ice.
- Rising Part 1
On the other hand, he hasn't been terribly revealing so far - but neither has anyone else. *shrugs* Not so much on the character insight on SGA so far, but it's just starting to find its feet, IMO.
Oh, this explains so much! (I take it he doesn't much care for wormhole travel, either?) So is it a confidence thing? Because Carson seems very competent ... but not all that confident, at least in the few stories and vids where I've encountered him.
No, Beckett is not fond of wormhole travel.
McKAY: Nonononono – he just doesn't like going through the Stargate.
SHEPPARD: He's worse than Doctor McCoy.
TEYLA: Who?
SHEPPARD: The TV character that Doctor Beckett plays in real life.
BECKETT: Converting a human body into energy and sending it millions of light years through a wormhole – bloody insanity.
McKAY: C'mon, how often do you get to travel to an alien planet?
BECKETT: I was already on an alien planet!
-Poisoning the well
Beckett's confident when it comes to medical stuff, but not when it comes to Ancient technology.
WEIR: We've only found a hand full of people who are genetically compatible with the ancient technology ... we need every one of them to sit in this chair, including Dr Beckett.
MCKAY: What am I supposed to do? He's afraid of that thing.
WEIR: This chair controls the most powerful weapons known to Humankind. (Small laugh) I'm afraid of the thing. But every time someone sits in it we learn something new about the ancients who built this outpost. Dr Beckett should be proud he's genetically advanced.
(later)
MCKAY: There is nothing to be afraid of.
BECKETT: You don't understand, I break things like this.
- Rising Part 1
So it isn't just me, then! Because she seems so - well, you said it best: she's the anti-diplomat. She also seems to me to be the anti-leader. Everyone else comes across in FF and vids as highly competent, and she comes across as just - really tense and weak. She's the least in-command commander I've ever seen.
I think part of the problem is that the show's not really about her; it's about Sheppard and McKay and Teyla and Ford. She tends to be peripheral. That said, she could be peripheral in a more forceful way. I blame the scriptwriters. (In Underground, which I just watched, she's a a bit more in charge, but she still doesn't really do much. It's tragic, really.) And there's no excuse on the diplomat front. (See: the ep 38 minutes. Tragic.)
And yet another round of thanks to you for the Weir-recs, which I will be reading this weekend. She's a really tough character, I think, probably because of that little lapse on the part of the script writers, so a lot of the FF I've read about her has been - well, anyway. I'm very glad to have recs that expand on her canon character.
I hope you like them. I think she has a lot of potential, but it's just not coming through, which is sad.
no subject
Oh, and I almost forgot - he specializes in medical research, not emergency surgery (we assume since he discovered the gene, which points to him being in research, and he undertakes research on the show), yet he becomes Chief Medical Officer , responsible for looking after everyone with limited resources . This is a theme that often appears in fic, as writers explore the stress he must be under and also try to explain the logic in making a researcher Chief Medical Officer in a truma situation. The show is vague about it, and we don't really know what the specialties of the other medical staff there are. The general concensus on why he's Chief Medical Officer appears to be: 1) they weren't expecting the Wraith, so sending a medical researcher to gather information about new technology made sense, and Carson as the discoverer of the gene was the logical choice, and then the Wraith showed up and he's just unlucky; or 2) it's just sloppy writing, what the hell were they thinking.
no subject
(paraphrase)
Sheppard:we have something they want, they have something we want. I thought that's how negotiation works.
Weir: Yes it is Major. I personally stop short of offering nuclear weapons but that's just me
Ford: They were building them anyway.
Weir: Well if they were building them anyway Leiutenant why didn't you just say so.