Fandoms I Have Loved 10: Stargate: Atlantis

[thefourthvine]

And, yes, I do resent the need to use two colons in the title. The Stargate people need to ease off on the punctuation a bit.

I probably should've done the SG-1 FIHL before this one, but that one's indefinitely stalled. (Look, you try summarizing nine seasons of a show you've never seen a minute of; I mean, the character deaths (permanent), character deaths (prolonged), character deaths (temporary), and character deaths (bait and switch) alone would take fifteen pages, which pages are already extant at Arduinna's phenomenal Stargate Handbook, thank god.) Whereas I still have a shot at finishing this one. Shall we begin? (Note: this is a Fandoms I Have Loved, so spoilers will abound after the cut tag.)



I started reading SGA because of the fandom equivalent of a heavenly conjunction; suddenly three thousand FF writers, including 80% of my favorite ones, were writing stories in this fandom, causing massive orbital fluxes and gravitational anomalies.

I am not a strong woman. When it comes to fandom, I am downright weak. I knew better than to try to resist.

And since then, SGA's gravitational pull has only increased. I now call it the black hole of fandom, and I could do this whole extended metaphor thing involving solar masses and the Schwarzschild radius and the Chandrasekhar limit, but I think we'll all be glad I chose not to. Suffice to say, SGA is where I expect we'll make alien contact for the first time; some writer will notice a new name on her friends list, click, and discover that the fine entities of Alpha Centauri have been sucked in and are now searching for SGA slash. (They will probably want OT3 fic - maybe little glowing fly creatures from "The Defiant One"/big power-eating cloud from "Hide and Seek"/sentient energy beings from "Home." I mean, they're aliens.)

I don't think people from the darkest depths of fandom (and the universe) are piling onto SGA because of the brilliance of its canon. Because, um, the canon? Is, well, sometimes funny. And full of characters, and reasonably well-acted, and angsty, and sometimes interesting. It's not - it's not brilliant, though.

But now I feel like I've betrayed McKay and Zelenka and Sheppard by saying that.

Are you starting to see why so many people are in this fandom? It's the characters, baby.

Well, partly. The other thing is - anything can happen in an SGA story. The combination of Ancient technology, otherwordly location, and mysterious brain-breaking pseudo-science is - well, let's just say that the characters are flirting with the line where sufficiently advanced technology becomes magic. And sometimes they get all the way to home base and start straddling that line, or even openly fucking with it. Want a story in which wishes come true? SGA can meet that need. Want a story involving mythological creatures - vampires, fairies, centaurs, unicorns, maybe gorgons or phoenixes or King Kong? SGA can meet that need. Tentacle porn, Japanese rope bondage, all manner of weirdly erotically-fixated deii ex machina, sentient light - really, there's nothing that can't happen in this fandom. And I think that's the other reason people can't resist it.

But let's start by looking at the characters.

The Characters

Now, normally I don't divide them up like this. But for me, in SGA, there are interesting men. And there are annoying or faceless women. I don't know if the writers aren't interested, or if they can't write, or if they're just such dorks that they said, "We want real men and women, so we'll have geeks and…Lois Lane! Like from the Superman comics! Oh, and we'd better have a charming flyboy, 'cause that worked real well with O'Neill." I suspect this was pretty much their development process, actually. So, just like in golden age comics, what you have here is a fandom where men have character and women have breasts.

So, and let's all just accept right now that this is my opinion with which you are free to disagree and even argue, the men are the interesting part of this fandom. The women - they are interesting to other people, and they are very interesting in FF, but as far as I am concerned they are sometimes fucking annoying in canon, and that needs to be acknowledged. Anyone who accuses me of misogyny, stupidity, or willful blindness gets my special multi-page Women of SGA Rant, and may end up beta-reading my leviathan Weir history story, should it ever be finished. (I didn't say I didn't also find them fascinating. I do. It's just - it's the kind of fascination I usually keep for people who drive 45 in the fast lane.)

-The Men-

JOHN SHEPPARD, MAJOR, USAF and later LIEUTENANT COLONEL, but still USAF. (Apparent motto: "Who, me?")

Five Things You Need to Know About Sheppard:

1. He has hair. You'll hear a lot about his hair if you read anything in this fandom, including just walls in bathrooms used by other SGA fans. ("Sheppard's hair R0X0RS!!!" "No, Sheppard's hair SUCKS ROCKS!" "Shep is a product-using PANSY!" "I know. It's his best trait!")
   
2. He flies helicopters and (later) Ancient puddle jumpers and (still later) things with wings.
   
3. He likes football (you'll also hear a hell of a lot about the Doug Flutie Hail Mary, and if you don't know what that is, don't worry - you will), Ferris wheels, and "anything that goes more than 200 miles an hour." And as far as self-disclosure goes, that's pretty much it for Sheppard, who has that nifty ability to talk a lot without actually saying anything he doesn't want to, which in his case is everything but "I like Ferris wheels." And after you spend enough time listening to his diversionary conversation, you start to wonder if he's even been on one.
   
4. He has the ATA gene, and either he's better at using it than anyone, like, ever, or he's got...more of it. Or something. (Do not think about the science. If you do, you will likely die of a fatal exception error of the brain.) Atlantis looooooves him. (John/Atlantis OTP OMG SQUEEEEE! Seriously, people, I'm verging into tinhat territory with the John/Atlantis ship. It's scary.)
   
5. He's smart and has some computational ability (canon) or a giant amount of math skill (fanon). Also, he passed "the Mensa test," but that's easy enough that my dogs could do it - well, one of them could, provided you had enough cheese to hold her interest and didn't take points off for drooling - so it doesn't prove much, except to McKay, who appears to have, shall we say, a bit of a Mensa fetish.

He's slashed mostly with McKay and shipped mostly with Weir or Teyla, but he has a fanon reputation as a total slut. And if you're going by the FF, man, he's earned it. (In the show, all we really see is that everyone there suspects him of being a total slut, too; native fathers hide their daughters, that kind of thing. Oh, and he gets off with this Ancient chick, Chaya, at one point, but that only proves that he's capable of lusting after the bitchy.)

RODNEY MCKAY, Ph.D. (Apparent motto: "Smarter than you. Also? Still smarter than you.")

Five Things You Need to Know About McKay:

1. He is a very smart man, but that does not mean you should try to understand this "science" whereof he speaks. Sometimes you have to let art flow over you. Or lose your mind.
   
2. He's incredibly sarcastic. Delightfully so. It makes you (and by "you," I mean "me") want to just hug him. Except, of course, he'd probably bite you if you tried.
   
3. He's cowardly, neurotic, hungry, greedy, whiny, self-centered, and seriously lacking in social graces. He hates children and stupid people, and considers everyone (except, sometimes, Sheppard and Zelenka) one or the other. On the list of "Characters You Would Not Want to Work For," he's roughly equal to Lionel Luthor. Except when he's not.
   
4. People are not rational when they speak of McKay. This is because, in addition to his manifold flaws, he's also - well, not brave. But courageous. He's also the guy who grits his teeth and saves the day, not because he has any special inclination to be a hero, but because it has to be done, and he's right there, and maybe he's the only one who can do it. What with his giant brain and all. And he's not kind, exactly, or tactful at all, but he still sometimes manages to say or do the right thing at the right time. So there are those who love him for being who he is and still being a good guy. And there are those who are stuck back on, "But he's such a bitch! And I don't mean in the good, sexy, Oz way, either!"
   
5. He always saves the day. Except when he doesn't. Another thing people (and again - by "people," I mean "me") really like about him is that he does genuinely fuck up sometimes, and his overconfidence does have consequences. Bad ones.

McKay is slashed with, oh, lots of people - Sheppard, yes, but also Zelenka and Beckett and Dex and even Ford. I haven't seen a predominant het pairing for him yet, and frankly, I'm not surprised. The one time a woman hit on him in canon (first season only, here) he a) had absolutely no idea, even though she couldn't have been any more obvious if she'd just thrown her skirt over his head and shouted, "Take me, you hot stallion of science" and b) once he was told (by his teammates), he still had to ask Sheppard what to do. (No, really. But I think he was just unused to being the pursued rather than the soon-to-be-slapped pursuer. I think.)

RADEK ZELENKA, Ph.D. (Apparent motto: "Hchtchotchka szszotch.")

Four Things You Need to Know About Zelenka:

1. He's Czech. This, as it turns out, is cute.
2. He apparently forgot to bring a comb with him to the Pegasus galaxy. This is also cute.
3. He's smart and nice. He manages to work with Rodney without killing him, and even gets respect from him. (This is the coveted McKay seal of approval, which actually translates to only calling him an idiot sometimes.) Add in his smile, which goes well beyond cute and is capable of not just stopping a charging buffalo in its tracks but also making the buffalo want to be friends, and you have a character you can't help but love.
   
4. He has an apparent crush on Weir (and you have to give credit to the actor; the whole crush thing arose from the 30 seconds he spent with her in one episode, and it wasn't written into the script, and yet it's painfully obvious anyway).

So that's Zelenka: the adorable crushed out Czech. When he's paired, it's most often with McKay and Weir. Or with everyone, because in certain fanon interpretations, he's the Czech God of Love and Atlantis's Secret Lover Man (tm kormantic, and how right she is).

CARSON BECKETT, M.D. (Apparent motto: "Oh, no.") Carson is the ultra-woobie of the crew; he figured out the Ancient gene but is afraid to use his own, he doesn't like wormhole travel, and he misses his mother. He's a highly competent doctor, and it is best not to ask yourself why someone who apparently specializes in genetics research is head of the medical staff on Atlantis. (Or, if you'd rather, you can just blame Weir's unfortunate planning. I do, but more on that later.) He is very Scottish, at least in terms of accent. If you have any interest in medical or research ethics, do not look too closely at Beckett. His actions will drive you insane.

AIDEN FORD, LIEUTENANT, US MARINES. (apparent motto: "You won't like me when I'm angry.") I liked Ford. He was one of my favorite characters - cheerful, competent, normal. He was fun. But - and season two spoilers are coming up - the writers decided that normal wasn't what Atlantis needed, and they infected him with some lame Wraith virus, gave him a hideous mutant eye so terrifying I cannot stand to look at it, and sent him off to, I don't know. Fight Wraith, I guess. I'm still in mourning. I want the good Ford back!

RONON DEX. (Apparent motto: "Uh.") He's the guy they brought in to replace Ford, and I'm actually sort of managing not to hold that against him, which is mostly a tribute to some great FF writers out there. He's a Pegasus galaxy native who was betrayed, and spent seven years playing the Most Dangerous Game with the Wraith, and then his whole planet was wiped out, and it's all highly tragic and sad. Now he spends his time on Atlantis, sparring, running, and otherwise improving his manifold skills. Also eating. He is known by some sections of fandom as the Hot Guy and in others as the New Guy. The rest of us are still patiently waiting for his character to develop. (And, yes, missing Ford. I liked him, okay? I'm allowed to sulk.) Ronon likes: food, not talking much, killing Wraith, and orders. He apparently really likes orders. At least from Sheppard.

-The Women-

TEYLA EMMAGEN. (apparent motto: "My people have a long and noble tradition of being deii ex machina and also hot like burning. I am happy to assist in either capacity.")

Four Things You Need to Know About Teyla:

1. She's the leader of the Athosian people, except she doesn't hang around with them much. Her leadership of them is mostly represented these days by her rustic (by which I mean "revealing") outfits.
   
2. She's a tough warrior. She fights Wraith and John Sheppard with sticks. She's also part Wraith, but you'll feel better if you never think about that again.
   
3. She's a diplomat-linguist-trader person. Basically, this means she eschews contractions, gets to provide the exposition a lot of the time, and is a sort-of-semi-if-you-squint excuse for Sheppard and company's miraculous ability to communicate easily with every civilization in the Pegasus galaxy. Okay, so she's not much of an excuse for that, but, trust me, she's the best one you're going to get.
   
4. She's also very hot. Hot enough that we will not discuss, for example, her fashion choices, which involve fighting in a skirt and a halter top - after all, this is the armor of choice for sexy females in fantasy universes everywhere. I mean, she's hot. The creators of the show are guys. I totally understand where this whole skirt and halter top thing comes into it. Basically, she's the clothing-optional-tai-chi person of this fandom. (Every fandom needs one. Angel! Duncan! Kirk, sort of! It's a noble company in which she, well, fights moodily while underdressed.)

She is most often paired with Weir and Sheppard, but I'm hoping that's going to switch to Dex real soon.

(Note: If Teyla starts to work on your nerves, I suggest a foolproof remedy invented by my OTP, makesmewannadie: every time she says "My people," assume she's talking about her breasts. And suddenly all will be right in Atlantis again, and you'll be positively looking forward to lines such as, "My people were happy to oblige" and "My people have never been in such a place as this.")

ELIZABETH WEIR. (Apparent motto: "Bringing fine human traditions - including inefficiency, marginalization, and the Dilbert Principle - to a brand-new galaxy.")

The One Thing You Need to Know About Weir When You're Reading Anything I've Written:

1. She drives me nuts. And I have reasons, I do, but I won't list them because I know I'm biased. I lost all chance of liking her about 15 minutes into the pilot episode. Because, see, when you make a long-term commitment to someone? When you live with him, as she obviously did, and share a life with him? You do not announce that you are leaving him via video after you have already left. If you have a "once in a lifetime" opportunity at work, and you can't tell him about it, you can:
   
   
   • Tell him anyway. If you honestly can't choose between the two of them, this is your only option.
     
   • Separate from him, but lie about the reason. See, this way? He does not spend a year wondering if you've been kidnapped and the video was a lie. He is not left hanging, unable to get over you or continue his life. If you honestly prefer the job to him, this is the decent thing to do.
     
   • Don't take the opportunity. Elizabeth might have been unable to pass this up, but unlike, for example, McKay, she's not irreplaceable on Atlantis. If she loved Simon, this was the choice she should have taken.
   
   Also? Once you have informed someone you're leaving for an unknown period via video, and then sent him another video essentially breaking up with him and telling him you're probably dying, and asking him to get on with his life? You do not hold the moral high ground, and you do not get to claim hurt party status if he did, in fact, take you at your word and get on with his life.

So, you know, it's best if we just don't talk about her. But know that Weir has many, many fans. I encourage you, if you have not seen the show yourself, to talk to them about why they like her. Lord knows I'm not going to be able to provide an unbiased perspective, here. It's taken all my effort to keep my eight-page essay on Weir's management skills and techniques out of here.

She's slashed most often with Teyla and shipped most often with Sheppard.

-The Bad Guys-

THE WRAITH. (Apparent motto: "Yum! Also, grrrrr.") These are big tough space vampires, only not hot, not vulnerable to sunlight, and not, frankly, all that scary. Also, they apparently are very prone to gender identity disorders. They use their hands to suck the life right out of people, and they also regularly kill (and eat) bunches of people on all the planets in the Pegasus galaxy. They are Big Bads, in other words. Try to ignore the way they walk.

THE GENII. (Apparent motto: "If we can't beat the Wraith, we can at least be a thorn in the side of anyone who might.") This is a pseudo-Amish human civilization with a massive underground military-industrial complex. They like nuclear bombs, C4, and losing to Sheppard. They also apparently have access to advanced hair-curling technology, to judge by their females. Oh, and they supply some additional and wholly unnecessary clothing-optional tai chi. To which I say: Give it up, guys. You'll never be prettier than Teyla or tougher than Sheppard or smarter than McKay, and your clothing-optionalness is, frankly, icking us right the fuck out. Go back to bean farming.

THE ANCIENTS. (Apparent motto: "Beginning another glorious millennium of totally skeevy mysteriousness.") I don't care what anyone says. I'm convinced these are bad guys. They left incredibly dangerous things lying around, they were apparently hugely racist, and they did some science that was, at best, ethically dubious. They aren't automatically good guys just 'cause our heroes are sort of following in their footsteps, you know. But, fine, okay, let's say they're not bad guys. Their leftover science fair projects cause a fair amount of trouble for the home team, hence they still belong here. So there.

The Plot

So, you know about Stargate, right? And about the stargate that lets people zoom from planet to planet via pretty stone circles left by a mysterious race known as the Ancients (capital letter added for extra mystery!)? Because if you don't, whoa Nelly, you're going to have some trouble accepting the SGA universe. Your options are:

1. Check out the crack_van SG1 summary.
   
2. Check the comments for this post; sooner or later someone might provide additional links, or maybe a super-short summary just for SGA people.
   
3. Rent Stargate, the movie, then forget everything but Jack and Daniel and evil aliens in gold lame. And even then, replace the robotic Jack of the movie with a Jack who has a sense of humor, a penchant for playing much dumber than he is, and longer hair. Or, hey, just rent the first season of Stargate: SG1 and watch the pilot.
   
4. Live in blissful ignorance. Sooner or later, you'll get all the info you need from the FF.

Right. So now we know about Ancients and stargates and wormholes and how, in the SG universe, there are aliens, and they are exactly as imagined in most 1950s pulp SF, only much gaudier.

Enter the lost, flying, sinking, floating, and massively itinerant city of the Ancients, aka Atlantis. It is full of Ancient tech (although most of what we see in the canon is lights and doors) that can only be run by people with "the Ancient gene," aka ATA. Most earth humans don't have it, and no humans in Pegasus do, and no, I don't know why. Sheppard has it in spades, and several other of the original crew have it in, shall we say, a minor suit. Beckett also figures out how to do "gene therapy" to introduce the gene into some - but not all - of the people who try it; this is how McKay gets it. But Atlantis still loves Sheppard best.

Atlantis is located in a different galaxy than earth, which means you have to dial an extra character on the stargate to get there. Which means, in turn, that you need a ZPM, which is a special power supply that looks like a very cheap special effect. Think of it as half a calling card with a lot of prepaid minutes, only somewhat less impressive, and half the Holy Grail, only much less impressive - and I'm talking about the Indiana Jones Holy Grail, here.

McKay figures out how to get people to Atlantis using the ZPM. Weir sets up a mission to go there. Sheppard inadvertently sits in a very uncomfortable-looking chair, reveals his inner Ancient, and gets recruited for the trip at the last minute. (Those of us since sucked into this fandom kind of know how he feels.) Everyone packs up and ships out, including Bates, Ford, Zelenka, a number of characters not appearing in this FIHL, and Sumner, who is John's CO and thus destined for an unhappy ending.

When they get to Atlantis, it takes one look at John and says, "Ooo, aren't you pretty. C'mere, honeybunch; I've been waiting millennia for someone like you." (It says this via lights, but trust me, you can just tell.)

John says, "I still haven't totally dealt with the whole aliens with bad taste thing. But, hey, you're kinda cute. Maybe we could just hang out for a while, get to know each other?"

Atlantis says, "Oh, yes. And you can sleep with me in your underwear. I promise I won't touch you."

Rodney says, "Oh, FUCK. We're DOOMED." And, surprisingly, he is not talking about the huge crush Atlantis has on John - he's saving that kind of jealousy for later in the season - but the power situation.

See, they were hoping to find another ZPM on Atlantis, as it's something they need so they can go back to earth. Instead, they've (by which I mean Rodney) discovered that the city is almost depleted of power - I suspect that's why it isn't ravishing John right there in the gateroom - and they are soon going to die an unfortunate and very moist death.

They raise the city, averting death. Then they (by which I mean John) accidentally wake the Wraith, bringing the death thing right back to the foreground.

They meet Teyla's people (hee!), the Athosians, who are all going to die at the hands of the Wraith because of the waking-them-up deal. So the earth folk bring the Athosians back to Atlantis, where they stay for a while. Eventually, all of them but Teyla move to the mainland.

Meanwhile, the Atlantis crew faces many dangers and conquers most of them. Well, definitely more than half, anyway. Red shirts die. Sheppard and McKay flirt a lot, and then Sheppard has glowy not-sex with the Ancient chick, Chaya, and McKay has a massive jealous tantrum. (No, really. It can't be anything else. And he's not jealous 'cause he wants Chaya, either.) Later, a native of another planet wants McKay's ass, and Sheppard, who is way too cool for a tantrum, just gives bad advice and rolls his eyes a lot.

Then the Wraith attack in force and season one ends.

I haven't actually seen season two yet, but this is where Ford gets his essence o' Wraith infusion and takes off for his new career as a plot device with a really disturbing eye. That's also where they find Ronon Dex; Sheppard brings him home, swearing to Elizabeth that he will feed him and play with him and take him for regular runs and he'll be really useful on the team so please can he keep him huh huh huh please?

A lot of other stuff happens, too. But, seriously, how exhaustively inclusive do you expect me to be? Let's just get right to the sex. I mean, the FF. Let's get to the FF.

The Fan Fiction

This is where we get to the good stuff. I mean, good stuff for the hypothetical fan who just came out from under a rock and thus has not yet begun reading SGA; for me, it's just a lot of agonizing choices, people. I suffer for my art. Or, okay, it isn't exactly art, and I don't suffer so much as, well, type, and also indulge my obsessiveness to an alarming degree, but "I suffer for my art" would fit on an icon, so I generally just go with that. Misleading but succinct, that's my motto. Except for the succinct part.

But, seriously, the only thing limiting this list is that I want to post this, preferably before season three starts. Because the strength of this fandom is in its fan fiction - its long, plotty, often funny, scarily engaging fan fiction. So. Where shall we begin?

Intersections, by kaneko. How about before the series even starts? This is an amazing piece, both for characterization and for sheer depth. And it's funny. And it joins up seamlessly with the series start. And it explains away several of the more confusing contradictions in the pilot. Not enough for you? There's also math! Clowns getting kicked in the nuts! Pears! Sex in a tent! Seriously, this is the story for the fan who wants it all. And it's one of those that I'd recommend to anyone, even people who don't read in this fandom. On those rare occasions when they cautiously poke their heads out of their lead-lined bunkers, twitching helplessly from yet another round of merciless SGA pimping. Poor souls. I think of them often. Usually in terms of what I'll rec if I ever get one in my sights. This has to top the list, because although prior canon knowledge helps, it isn't required, and it really shows off the two characters who appeal to me most in SGA. (McKay and Sheppard. Of course. Surely you didn't have to ask?)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Give or Take), by merryish. I had to include this one, and not just because the author's note has been has become my mantra in this fandom. ("Pffft. Science.") And also not just because I read it very early in my SGA exploration, and it made me say, "SGA, I have no idea who you are, but I love you and may very potentially be taking you home and cuddling you all night, as soon as I figure out what your initials stand for," and I figure it might do the same for others. No, see, I'm recomending it because I want to show off the funny side of the fandom. Because SGA is definitely prone to the light-hearted (at least thus far; after a few seasons in the hands of the SG writers, that could all change) and giggle-inducing stories. And this is so definitely one of them. One of the very best of them. The plot is: Rodney and John go under the sea. (Darling, it's better down where it's wetter. Take it from them.) If you are the kind of person who goes for amusing character pieces, I also heartily recommend Advantage, by Resonant, aka resonant8, and A Beautiful Lifetime Event, by Shalott, aka astolat.

And, fine, yes, I'm cheating. I don't even care. Asking me to limit myself to five stories and five authors is torture in this fandom. (And, no, you may not point out that I set that rule myself.) From here on out, we will all just pretend that five is equal to a number substantially larger than five, okay? This is SGA, remember - we can do anything here.

Flying Blind,by minnow1212. I know I'm departing from a FIHL tradition; usually my starter stories are all about the pairings. (Sex does more than Milton can to recruit your average fan, I always say. And then I start thinking about Paradise Lost slash, and I have to go put a cold cloth on my eyes.) But oh, this fandom has such gorgeous gen. SG1 actually still has more, but SGA is no slouch in this department. And Flying Blind is one of the very best stories I've encountered, period, anywhere in the gateverse; in it, Rodney confronts the inevitability of mortality, and there is friendship, and also teamishness, and it's just - really good. If you've never seen the canon, pay particular attention to the team interactions and the minor characters in Minnow's work; she really gets that, and I mean she gets it down on paper, too. Plus, she's a wonderful writer just generally (Hee! Generally! Get it?); I commend you also to her Face Value (slash, S/M) and Necessary Things (gen).

The Taste of Apples and Sacrificial Drift, by Auburn, aka auburnnothenna. Gen and S/M slash. Atlantis may have stories featuring three wishes and centaurs and penguins and surprisingly horny aliens - and let me just make it clear that I love and adore and worship it for that - but it also has more serious stories. I mean, okay, this series's central plot device, which I really don't want to spoil, could have been used for a light-hearted, porny story, but Auburn takes a darker, deeper route, and yet still brings the story back to the light. Apples is a stunning story that could easily be original SF - brilliant original SF. And Drift is the slashy resolution of that story, and again it doesn't take the easy road. (Experienced SGA readers should also note the most excellent Bates ever in Drift. You don't hear this a lot, but: Yay Bates!) This is a great SGA starter story for people who like their fiction serious, intense, and dark(ish); the characterization is fantastic and the universe is both canon and nearly self-contained. (Wasn't kidding when I said it could be original SF.) If you read this and you're wanting even darker stories, try Auburn's Legion the Things I Would Give to Oblivion, a stunning, heart-breaking, brilliant story, and Rosebud and its mirror story Up Into the Silence, two even more heart-breaking and brilliant stories.

Thicker Than Water, by julad. And this is one of the great stories set back on earth between seasons one and two. It was as hard to choose just one of these as it was to choose from all of julad's stories; she's got fantastic McKay/Zelenka stuff (for example - note how subtle I'm being with these extra recs - Absurdity Theory and The Secret Life of Scientists), plus some great gen, too. But eventually I settled on this one (sort of - we're not counting the add-on recs, remember?), because - well, there's the established relationship aspect, traditionally a favorite of mine. This is even an established relationship that takes into account some of the complications living on Atlantis would bring to, you know, the whole thing. And then there's this version of Rodney's sister - only her name is canon, but I love her to bits. And I love that Julad doesn't give us a perfect resolve; some things work out, and some things don't, and the ending is happy anyway. That's a tough, tough trick, and the fact that SGA is just full of writers who can pull off things like that is something I really wanted to point out. For the, you know, eight people who haven't noticed that yet.

Edited 9/21/2005 to add John's proper current rank (thanks to those who reminded me that just 'cause I haven't seen the second season doesn't mean it hasn't happened) and information about the ATA gene. Apparently my brain so rebelled at the whole concept that it refused to incorporate it into the original post. Whoops.

Comments

[svmadelyn.livejournal.com]

*filled with complete adoration of you*

He has the ATA gene, and either he's better at using it than anyone, like, ever, or he's got...more of it. Or something. (Do not think about the science. If you do, you will likely die of a fatal exception error of the brain.) Atlantis looooooves him. (John/Atlantis OTP OMG SQUEEEEE! Seriously, people, I'm verging into tinhat territory with the John/Atlantis ship. It's scary.)

It is so true. *dons tinhat with BELLS*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Oooo. You've got a tinhat with bells on. I am extremely jealous.

*fashions tinhat with jester's horns*

*realizes there's a reason experienced tinhats go with the traditional helmet shape*

*starts over*

But, yes, we must all, no matter what our respective abilities in tinhat manufacture, worship at the holy altar of the John/Atlantis ship. It is right.

(Um. Did that sound properly tinhattish? I'm new to this. Whereas you, judging by your jingly bells, are clearly a Grand Master, perhaps even a Mystic Master. So you should give me tips.)

[cereta.livejournal.com]

Okay, I like Weir, but otherwise, I love you SO MUCH right now.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! (And, truly, I acknowledge the potential for other views of Weir, which I think makes me fairly rational, as the more obsessed breed of fan goes. I just have...issues. Massive ones.)

*eyes your icon*

Oh, John, we do. We really do.

[bkwyrm.livejournal.com]

Best SGA summary I've ever seen. *applause*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! *bows*

[fanofall.livejournal.com]

SO. MUCH. LOVE. *loves*

Laughed out loud in the middle of the room at Zelenka's Apparent Motto (which I am stealing, because no one will know I'm not actually swearing at them in Czech -- I think that's Radek's secret, by the way; he's not Czech, he's really from Sheboygan, he just ... didn't have a hook. And everyone else did. So now, instead of Russell Zimmerman of Sheboygan he's Radek Zelenka of Prague, and he's cool!) and at Teyla's Apparent Motto and at Rodney and just OMG LOVES.

Also, recall that John was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel when they went back to Earth for the two-week break that evidently saw Teyla promoted from "suspect foreign alien person" to "second in command in the event of Weir's absence" what with the reporting and the ThinkPad and all. :-D

*MORE LOVE OMG SO MUCH LOVE*

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

*loves in return*

And, yay! You're there! I wasn't sure, because of, you know, moving. But apparently you have survived it. Unless you read this from a secret hideout or something.

Also: you're welcome to steal Zelenka's apparent motto. If you can pronounce it. Lord knows I couldn't.

I think that's Radek's secret, by the way; he's not Czech, he's really from Sheboygan, he just ... didn't have a hook. And everyone else did. So now, instead of Russell Zimmerman of Sheboygan he's Radek Zelenka of Prague, and he's cool!

NOOOOOOOOO do not malign my adorable travel-sized-for-your-convenience Czech!

Also, you should totally write that. (Rodney: "You can't take Radek with you offsite! [ostentatious whisper] I don't trust him." John [using his outdoor voice]: "You don't trust your own assistant?" Rodney [hissing despite near total lack of sibilants]: "Colonel, have you noticed how we don't actually have Czechoslovakia anymore? I asked Radek about that last week." John: "And?" Rodney: "He said it only mattered what you were in your heart. I view that as very suspicious." John: "A scientist from your lab with feelings? I can see why.")

Also, recall that John was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel

See, yes. Technically I knew this. It's just - I'm not watching season 2, and BB isn't, either, so we're in a time warp in our house. It was tough for me to come up with anything to write about Ronon Dex, and notice how Lorne didn't even make an appearance.

But you have reminded me that the rest of the world - or, okay, the parts with TV stations that have good taste in programming - is deep into season two, and that therefore I must acknowledge the Lieutenant Colonelhood even if I do not embrace the Lieutenant Colonelhood. (Or any of the other season two changes. Because: Ford. Still sulking.) So the Lieutenant Colonel thing is now fixed! Added! Up to date! In that particular respect, anyway.

[apetslife.livejournal.com]

God, this is brilliant. I haven't laughed so much in DAYS! Perfect, perfect, perfect, for all of them ('cept Weir, in my opinion, but I hadn't even thought of that whole video aspect quite that way before, so, yeah, I see your point). Well done! Thank you!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad I made you laugh, and very glad you're willing to overlook the whole Weir thing.

[exceptinsects.livejournal.com]

Okay, so I, like you, got sucked into the SGA vortex before ever seeing the show because Everybody who is Anybody is writing it and it's all so great and adorable.

And then a few weeks later I was talking to this lady at work, waiting in line for the bathroom, you know, and she had like a Starfleet Academy shirt or something, and I said oh, are you a Star Trek fan? And she said oh sure, Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate...and I said oh yes I hear that new Atlantis show is good.
So she lent me her copy of the pilot on DVD! And I watched it, and it was good, but you know, like you say not totally brilliant but with all the FF background of course there's more...depth.
I told her I liked it but I wished there was more McKay, and she said, I swear, "he's in it more, later on in the season, and he and Sheppard kind of get together." Heh.
So now whenever I see her we are all hee hee McKay is sooo cute! and okay, maybe she is a litle out of control since she has him as her desk wallpaper, and she gets the SGA magazine (! did you know there was one?) in which, apparently, there was, like, a centerfold of Rodney and she said "I'd bring it in to show you but it does not leave my house."
Yes, we in the library business are often a little scary.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Yes, we in the library business are often a little scary.

*snerk*

I live with a librarian, and I swear, I sometimes think fannishness (ideally with a slash focus) is required to get into library school. Two years of a foreign language, computer skills, a really good essay, and a sample reader's advisory in the shape of recommending good fan fiction for a novice in HP slash.

In other words: you are so right, and also, I am not at all surprised by your co-worker. Although the Rodney centerfold thing is slightly disturbing, but I'm just going to pretend she's a periodicals or government documents librarian and so comes by her OCD weirdness naturally.

Also, I think fan fiction --> canon is the way to go with this fandom. After you read enough FF, you're so head-over-heels in love that you totally don't even see the giant plot holes and questionable science and weird character continuity issues. Or, okay, you see them, but you don't care, because you're too busy pointing out to whoever is watching with you that THEY ARE SO TOTALLY DOING IT.

But then, I think FF first is the way to go with most TV canons, so what do I know?

[umbo.livejournal.com]

Wonderful summary and pimping, but I can't help but wonder if you share my dear friend panisdead's Major kink. As in, she finds "Major Sheppard" much hotter than "Lieutenant Colonel Sheppard," and continuously writes stories that may or may not be set in season 1 and yet still refer to him as the Major. Which is possibly a kink that Rodney McKay shares, since it did take him long enough to start referring to his boyfriend as "Colonel." Of course, a good portion of the fandom will explode from squee on the day he finally refers to him by first name, but that's possibly unrelated (or possibly not, considering McKay's canon fascination with members of the military).

Weir is annoying. I used to find Teyla annoying but now I adore her, leather skirt and all. After all, the Scots fought in skirts, right? But I, too, miss Ford.

[caorann.livejournal.com]

After all, the Scots fought in skirts, right?

Actually, up until most of them became Presbyterians (and rather dour Presbyterians at that)they often would throw off their kilts and go into battle dressed only in woad as an old fashioned method of "shock and awe". Apparently it worked rather well on the Romans, who finally just built a wall to keep them out and let them alone.

[out-there.livejournal.com]

You do not hold the moral high ground, and you do not get to claim hurt party status if he did, in fact, take you at your word and get on with his life.

But I think you do have a reasonable expectation that he would *mention* that he's seeing someone else -- before you go to the effort of dressing up and cooking dinner for him.

Oddly enough, I sort of like Elizabeth. I mean, no, the affection is nowhere near my adoration for McKay and Zelenka (and to a lesser extent, John and Carson. And Lorne. And Ford. And Dex.) but there are certain fond feelings for her. Not for the wishy-washiness of conviction or trying to do the right thing (which either doesn't effect me, or seems so blindingly obvious that I worry that John and Rodney need someone to point it out to them... but that leads to the whole realisation that John and Rodney like having someone to wheedle around and play the disapporving school ma'am. Which is neither here nor there.) but there are times when she's got some strength to her (talking to the Genii alone, in The Seige) and there are times when she amuses me and has a touch of dry humour.

She's a lightweight character compared tot he guys -- not as interesting, not as fun -- but there's something about her that appeals to me a little.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Okay, I had this whole long reply on Weir written out - and I can still send it to you, if you want it later on - but I realized what I really wanted to say was:

I hope you're okay. I'll miss you, and I hope you can check in with LJ soon.

*hugs*

[damned-colonial.livejournal.com]

It's located in a different galaxy than earth, which means you have to dial an extra character on the stargate to get there.

Wait... wtf... you have to DIAL LONG DISTANCE? That's the lamest "ancient subconscious cultural artifact" thing since Krikkit.

[fenris_wolf0]

Hee hee hee... So true! But the Stargate writers never hesitate to fumble a concept (character, scientific principle, you name it) to get where they want to go.

[bibliokat.livejournal.com]

This is the perfect overview! Oh man, your mottos were right on! I like Elizabeth, but after reading your point about her, I have to admit I haven't seen those episodes yet, so yeah, we'll see.

John/Rodney forever!!! (Occasionally throwing in Ronon for some spice;)

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And, yeah, I think watching the first season in order seriously impairs a person's ability to like Elizabeth; at least, I might've been better off getting to know her character before I saw the pilot. But then, I don't think most other people have the loyalty fixation I do. (Nothing is sexier than loyalty. It is one of my bullet-proof kinks, and I have just learned to accept it.)

John/Rodney forever!!!

I OTP. I'm not ashamed and I'm not sorry. *testifies*

In other words: OMG YES! (Although, if we're talking spice, Atlantis is way spicier than any person could ever be. I'm just saying. I mean, I read John/Ronon quite happily, and I read Radek/Rodney equally happily, but in my heart I'm usually thinking dirty thoughts about John and Atlantis.)

[marici.livejournal.com]

Best, most utterly wondeful Ford story I have found: http://www.livejournal.com/community/sga_flashfic/144140.html (http://www.livejournal.com/community/sga_flashfic/144140.html)

Also, I love [info]3jane's Egg, which is basically "how to pimp this fandom over IM":
http://www.ravenswing.com/~mirrorgirl/egg.html (http://www.ravenswing.com/~mirrorgirl/egg.html)

[marici.livejournal.com]

Oh, and I think you're right on the Ancients, so right on the Wraith, and thinking of Teyla's breasts as her people makes me make the little reverse-air squeaks you get when you laugh so hard you can barely breathe.

[fenris_wolf0]

I couldn't agree more; especially regarding Weir and point 4 of the plot: blissful ignorance works! I have seen all episodes, but frankly I suspect one could see only a handful of season 1 and be OK, what with the great fanfiction... I used to be able to squint to avoid looking at Weir's more dubious characteristics, but 'Conversion' was the straw that broke the camel's back. My tolerance is now nil. Thank God for the redeeming powers of fanfiction!

Still, I personally would have included 'Transcendental', 'Proof by Contradiction' and 'Oblivious' all of them by shalott to the short-short rec list. But then, I am biaised.

:D

[mmeguilotn.livejournal.com]

'Transcendental' isn't necessarily great for pimping new people into the fandom, not because it isn't a fascinating story, but because its characterization of McKay is so polarizing. I am a huge fan of shalott and of evil genius McKay, and yet 'Transcendental' still kind of squicks me.

[joannindiw.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for the tip with Teyla -- it made everything ever so much more bearable...

And the recs. Very much appreciated!

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you very much for the tip with Teyla -- it made everything ever so much more bearable...

Well, it was makesmewannadie's brilliant idea. I just gave it the publicity it deserved, because I know genius when I see it.

I'm very glad it could help you. It's like a magical solution to Teyla frustration, isn't it?

[ship-recs.livejournal.com]

haha, this is the most amusing SGA summary I've read.


(Note: If Teyla starts to work on your nerves, I suggest a foolproof remedy invented by my OTP, [info]makesmewannadie: every time she says "My people," assume she's talking about her breasts. And suddenly all will be right in Atlantis again, and you'll be positively looking forward to lines such as, "My people were happy to oblige" and "My people have never been in such a place as this.")

:D

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you! And, yes, makesmewannadie's, um, interpretation of Teyla's people is fabulous.

[brownbetty]

Auburn's story made my cry like a little girl with a skinned knee. Damn this fandom.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

That's - that's the good kind of damn, right?

And also, which of Auburn's stories? Because if it was Apples, OH MY GOD DO NOT READ the other ones I recommended, unless you just enjoy sobbing hysterically with your face pressed to your computer screen and your little fists pounding weakly at your keyboard; stick to Zelenka's Still, which is amusing and good and not at all sad. I mean, no one loves Auburn's work more than I do, but I take a very deep breath when I see she's posted new fic. I tend to think, "Yay! Good story ahoy! And, um. Maybe I should get the box of tissues now. Just in case."

[jmtorres.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh the thing with Elizabeth and the tape and Simon makes me want to tear my HAIR out. I mean, I can see where they were trying to set up some kind of Voyager-like situation, where Janeway had a fiance back on Earth that permitted her to fend off any interested parties for years and let the UST just brew, but Janeway didn't know she was heading for the ass-end of the galaxy. Elizabeth did. Argh, argh, argh. And yet I keep hoping we'll see more Simon because I heart the actor and Narim is dead.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Ohhhhh the thing with Elizabeth and the tape and Simon makes me want to tear my HAIR out.

THANK YOU. I've been thinking it's just me all this time, because everyone else seems totally comfortable with it and firmly on Elizabeth's side, but...no. I cannot possibly view her with anything less than a giant, honking bias courtesy of that damn videotape. I think of her telling Simon how grateful they should be to the President for declassifying things enough so that he can be told his partner is going away - no, has gone away - possibly forever, to somewhere she can't name, and I just want to bite her.

I didn't know about the Janeway thing, but, yeah, the not knowing beforehand is key. (And why do women in command have to be romantically unavailable? Can't we just trust them to handle any potential romantic entanglements, including fending them off as necessary, like a grownup?)

*grrrr*

*stomp*

Okay, seriously, I'm off my rant horse now. I'm just so happy that someone else sees this, too.

[lydiabell.livejournal.com]

This is glorious. If I hadn't already gotten sucked into SGA, this absolutely would have done it.

I kind of get around the problem with Weir and the tape by invoking the Pilot Rule. This rule states that if something happens in the pilot that is contradicted later in the series, what happened in the pilot doesn't count. (The Pilot Rule was formulated when I was trying to decide where Dan Rydell grew up.) Since Elizabeth, whatever her other flaws, is generally not a thoughtless, coldhearted jackass later in the series, I just sort of pretend the tape thing never happened. Having watched the first season somewhat out of order probably makes this easier. Mostly, though, I agree that the female characters are comparatively uninteresting, which is a damn shame.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I agree that the female characters are comparatively uninteresting, which is a damn shame.

It so is. For any number of reasons. *eyes SG writers crossly*

The Pilot Rule was formulated when I was trying to decide where Dan Rydell grew up.

The Pilot Rule is a work of brilliance! And applying it to SN is pretty well mandatory. When I'm dealing with that canon, I try to focus on the glorious, glorious dialog and let the timeline go, because Sorkin apparently didn't keep much in the way of notes. But with SN, I had the good fortune to be able to skip the pilot until I'd - you know, actually, I'm not sure I've seen the pilot even now. Hmmm. But I started my viewing with The Apology, which is definitely the way to go. With SGA, the pilot is kind of necessary, what with all the scene-setting and Wraith-awakening and so on, and that means my first impression of Weir, almost, was that damned videotape.

Now it is *entrenched*. It's, like, tainted everything else I see of her. Although I suspect I actually could apply the Pilot Rule if not for the manifold other problems I have with Weir, most of which can be summed up as: Oh my GOD why did they not bring at least ONE book on management practices with them? Or, hell, she could've read one before she left - they had time.

I just...arg. See, this is why I have to avoid talking about Weir; my issues don't so much show as stand front and center, blocking the view of the action, waving a giant sign saying, "Hi, Mom!"

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

1. deii ex machina

i? love you. i read 'deus ex machinae' somewhere sometime recently, and i hurt myself grinding my teeth (and then i hurt myself again, rolling my eyes at myself for caring).

2. She's a diplomat-linguist-trader person. Basically, this means she eschews contractions, gets to provide the exposition a lot of the time, and is a sort-of-semi-if-you-squint excuse for Sheppard and company's miraculous ability to communicate easily with every civilization in the Pegasus galaxy.

linguist, schminguist. the atlantis team could understand the athosians even before they ever met teyla, and they can understand everyone else in the galaxy as well, whether she's with them or not (has she ever not been with them? they must have gone some places without her in the period of the Evil Necklace). i can get behind her being a sort of diplomat-type person, but no translator has ever been required, which is something that's actually been bugging me for a while, since they need elizabeth's Mad Skillz (eh?) to translate Ancient documents -- so everything in Pegasus sounds like modern english, but it's written differently?

i've concluded that they all have babel fish in their ears, and moved on. [g]

[darthfox.livejournal.com]

oh, and!

3. beckett = woobie: omgyes! [dies]

Resources for new fans: TV

[dzurlady.livejournal.com]

Stargate: Atlantis on TV:
The US is currently showing S2 on the Sci-Fi Channel each Friday but is about to go on mid season break, with the last two episodes being shown this Friday (the 23rd of September) at 8.00 pm and then again at 11.00 pm. This is good for new fans since they will then commence repeats of earlier epsiodes from the 30th, commencing with 'Intruder' which is the second epsiode of season 2 (the first episode was the third part of the season cliffhanger). It will be shown at 9.00 pm and again 12.00 am (http://www.scifi.com/schedulebot/index.php3?program=STARGATE+ATLANTIS&x=50&y=11).
Canada is also currently showing Atlantis on The Movie Network, with episode 10 screening at 8.00 pm on the 26th of September, before rescreening S2 episodes with 'The Siege Pt 3' showing on the 3rd of October, also at 8.00 pm. It is also being shown on Z Télé (http://www.ztele.com/grille/emission.jsp?programId=1223) (in Québec); I have no idea if it is shown in French or not. It is shown on Thursdays at 9.00 pm, Sundays at 1.00 pm and 11.00 pm and Mondays at 8.00 am and 5.00 pm. They seem to be a mix of S1 and S2 episodes, but I can't work out when they're showing which episodes.
The UK is possibly currently rescreening S1 on Sky One (http://www.skyone.co.uk/programme/pgeProgramme.aspx?pid=2) Tuesdays at 9.00 pm; the Atlantis page says they will screen 'The Seige Pt 2' (the final episode of S1) then, but the program guide makes no mention of it. Apparently it is also being screened by Five, but I could find no more info than that.
In France it is broadcast by M6, but as their site (http://www.m6.fr/) won't load I have no idea what episodes they're showing, if any.
In Germany RTLII is possibly showing S2 - again, their site (http://www.rtl2.de/) refused to load properly.
Israel is apparently showing it on Israeli Channel 1 (Israeli Channel 1). I cannot even read the site, so I have no idea.
Australia will get S2 next year some time (possibly early 2006 (http://sgnewsaus.blogspot.com/2005/09/stargate-franchises-to-be-aired-in-aus.html)) on Channel 7.
S1 has not yet aired in New Zealand, and I know of no plans to show it.
I don't know about scheduals for anywhere else.

[janedavitt.livejournal.com]

I resisted for months and then gave in and I'm hooked now on SG-1 and SGA. Loved this. Funny, insightful and you quoted from The Little Mermaid and now that song is in my head, dammit.

Although it has fierce competition from Barkley's Daniel vid 'Fancy' which is also stuck in there this morning...

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I resisted for months and then gave in and I'm hooked now on SG-1 and SGA.

Do not resist the pretty fandom. Seriously. It likes a challenge. And it has tentacles in more than three dimensions.

you quoted from The Little Mermaid and now that song is in my head, dammit.

Although it has fierce competition from Barkley's Daniel vid 'Fancy' which is also stuck in there this morning...

I think you have a winning idea for a mash up there.

*tries to imagine it*

*head explodes*

[sweetvalleyslut.livejournal.com]

Yay! SGA FIHL! Great summary, especially your description of John's lack of communication skills.

The Teyla's people thing made me giggle for awhile, and that's speaking as someone who actually does like both Elizabeth and Teyla (though I totally get why you don't). Teyla has gotten better this season, IMO, but after her lack of personality in the first season it would be hard for her *not* to.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Great summary, especially your description of John's lack of communication skills.

Thank you. And, seriously, every time I think about John, I think that my sulky, hostile, uncommunicative teenage self was just totally an amateur. Turns out the best kind of not communicating is the kind you do when your mouth is moving and sound is coming out.

Teyla has gotten better this season, IMO, but after her lack of personality in the first season it would be hard for her *not* to.

Oh my god yes. And I've heard that from several people (hee!) now, so I'm looking forward to seeing it in practice. Because, see, I could like Teyla. I do like her, about half the time, even in the first season. It's just - the other half of the time I want to smack her. So, seriously, a personality infusion could be everything I need to become a Teyla fan.

And I'm so glad I didn't alienate all the Weir fans with this. I know some people like her. And I wanted to like her. But, but - I just couldn't. Video OMG NO.

[isiscolo.livejournal.com]

An amusing fanon/canon intro to SGA is Atlantis in a Nutshell (http://www.livejournal.com/users/daughtershade/193251.html) by daughtershade, which is a retelling of Rising (the pilot) using screencaps and, er, highly fanonical commentary. Very cute!

I rec SGA at Hieroglyphics: recs (http://isis.arithmancy.net/efiction/categories.php?catid=7&parentcatid=7).

I also think it's worth mentioning that the reason McKay/Sheppard slash is so prevalent in this fandom is because these men have incredible chemistry, and their interplay on the show is so. Damn. Cute.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Oh, cool! I had actually managed to miss both of these; I had no idea you even rec'd. It's lucky I do these posts, or I would miss everything that happens in all of LJ, because I do not exactly have my finger on the pulse of fandom, over here. But that just means I get to revel in everything way after everyone else has.

*revels in Atlantis recap*

*switches screens and revels in recs for a while*

And, wow. You have very fine taste in fic. Plus, ooo! There's a story that's new to me! (I totally got swamped in work and kinda, um, missed a lot of the Harlequin posts.)

Thank you for both links. And I will now go read this story instead of sleeping. Which, okay, not the best plan in the world, but it's fic. I know where my duty lies.

[thisisbone.livejournal.com]

The women - they are interesting to other people, and they are very interesting in FF, but as far as I am concerned they are sometimes fucking annoying in canon, and that needs to be acknowledged.

Amen, sister. Well, Teyla's grown on me (I like her more since I finally saw The Gift), but Weir, man. Weir and her right eyebrow. Having seen some early season 1 eps now, I can say I used to like her more. I liked her freckles and her enthusiasm and awe. Now she looks like she's puckered at both ends, and it's kind of sad.

I'm sorry you miss Ford! I came into this fandom Ronon-first, so I'm playing catch-up, and I can see Ford's appeal, before, you know, the shit hit the fan.

[thefourthvine.livejournal.com]

Weir and her right eyebrow.

Yes. And her tension that never goes away. She always looks like she's wound so tight she's about to fly apart into a million zinging pieces and springs and gears. Watching her makes me tense. I mean, seriously, I don't ask for emotional range from actors anymore. All I ask is that watching them not be an actively unpleasant experience.

So Weir is going to have to get Wraith virused or something for me to like her. But I'm still on the fence about Teyla, and I'm really hoping season 2 (when I finally start watching it, which will likely not happen until January or February) will knock me off on the "like" side.

I'm sorry you miss Ford! I came into this fandom Ronon-first, so I'm playing catch-up, and I can see Ford's appeal, before, you know, the shit hit the fan.

You're one of the authors who made me not hold the loss of Ford against Ronon, you know. But, yeah, I'll always miss Ford. He was just - such a good kid, really. Liked him. *sniffle*

But I'm getting with the Ronon program. And anyone who yanked you into this fandom has to be good.

[jackie-brown.livejournal.com]

What a hilarious summary, you've made me fall in love with my fandom all over again - like the flames needed fanning ;)

[paranoidgrl.livejournal.com]

This is awesome. I love this fandom.