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icarusI gave in to the five things meme, yes, broke down in the middle of the night. I blame my entire f-list. This one's for ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
malnpudl:
Five things John is afraid of:
1) John stops whatever he's doing to listen to the Athosian kids, crouching down beside them as the Marines and Rodney roll their eyes impatiently, puddlejumper hovering in the background. The wind is picking up. "Yeah, that's a pretty cool stick, as sticks go. I had one that was even better."
"Colonel," Rodney huffs, "we've gotta go if we're gonna beat this storm system."
"In a minute," he snaps, and turns back to the kids. "Not that I brought it with me. It was a while ago…."
...
Alone in the jumper, John takes it up into low orbit to watch the sun disappear, blinding gold around the edge of a mostly blue planet swirling with scattered white clouds. It's almost like an eclipse and he worries briefly about his eyes, though he figures it's worth it. He yanks his headset off once Chuck starts squawking, "Colonel Sheppard, is something wrong? You're off your heading…" and remains in orbit as it vanishes.
...
When John catches himself about to say "Not now!" to Rodney, he stops and says, "What?" instead. Even knowing what he's in for. Rodney pauses with open surprise for a moment, then the flood of words washes over John. He's tired and, no, he can't handle it now, but he does it anyway.
...
John also makes sure he looks everyone in the eye, tries not to finish their sentences -- even when he's pretty sure he knows what they're about to say -- because no matter what, John's never gonna be like his dad.
2) John's not afraid of dying, but the day they sent Sgt. Russell to Earth missing half of one leg, he lay back on Rodney's bed, staring at the ceiling for several minutes. He said very seriously, his voice hoarse, "If I'm ever a cripple, if I can't walk… just shoot me. Like a lame horse."
Rodney brushed it off. "Please. I'll build you a robot body."
John thought about that a moment, frowning. A funny look crossed his face as he turned to Rodney. "Like the terminator?"
"More like Luke Skywalker, actually," Rodney answered, not glancing up as he tapped away on his laptop.
"Won't that turn me to the dark side?"
"Well, you'll have to try and curb your propensity for evil."
3) It still makes his hair stand on end. He was sitting in the Sanctuary, trying to do the meditation thing (mostly because he was bored and the place emptied out at meditation time).
Eyes closed, he felt a shadow fall over him, and the rainfall he didn't remember picked up, pattering against the roof of the building as he concentrated harder to ignore it. He was guided, almost as if someone was turning his face, to see a huge distance. Over the endless rolling fields of the entire planet, moving fast. Then he came to the settlement, and all the lives of these people played out on fast-forward. Born, living, dying, the endless repetition and sameness of their lives.
Frustrated and impatient, he lifted away, turned to the sky… and left the planet. In the fathomless deep he found relief.
Then he saw the hive ship. Drawn in, curious and morbidly fascinated, he watched them, larvae, pupae… born, living, dying… essentially the same. The monotony dragged him down and he just wanted to be free of it. He struggled, and the rain sound returned and became a downpour.
John startled awake like a thunderclap. He found himself breathing hard, but still sitting crosslegged in the sun, surrounded by people quietly meditating around him. There was no storm and no Wraith.
He got up and politely left, and never joined them for meditation again. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Peaceful, my ass, he thought. Though he was sure, pretty sure, that it had been just a dream.
4) Okay, he'd promised to go, but that still didn't keep John from cringing when he saw the banner "Welcome, Class of '86!" The bad bubblegum pop music pouring out of tinny speakers in the school gym promised even worse to come. He straightened his tie and kept his mirrored sunglasses on as he picked up his badge.
"Guest of Rodney McKay," he told the overly perky bottle-blond behind the card table. She had on too much make-up and eyed him up and down appreciatively. John grimaced, turning away as he pinned on the nametag.
Rodney returned, grabbed his arm and said, "C'mon! Paul Lambertson's here and once he sees you he's going to make assumptions, he's going to be so right, and then live out the rest of his life in envy. Ha. I bet he only has one doctorate, too." He plowed eagerly into the crowd, dragging John behind him.
John followed gamely, but wondered why Rodney even cared.
5) It wasn't fear, exactly, but definitely a bad vibe. John crawled through the tall grass along the ridgeline, squinting at the scene below. Teyla was at his elbow, flat on the ground, while Rodney behind them swore under his breath.
The Wraith darts had all gone and they'd assumed the culling was over; so six Wraith in the dry fields a hundred feet below had come as something of a surprise. Four men in their clutches screamed, while two Wraith turned to look around for more prey, then backed away as the encircling flames licked closer. Thirty townspeople had lit a back-fire, letting the Wraith feed as a distraction, their bows drawn. At the last moment four arrows sliced through the Wraiths' victims and the men went down, dropped.
"Let's go," John whispered, edging backwards, and got no argument from his team.
As he piloted the jumper into the sky, he was silent, and even Rodney found nothing to say as he punched in the gate coordinates. John sensed Teyla was angry, her chin raised and shoulders rigid.
It's not that he didn't understand, hell, he'd been there when he shot Colonel Sumner, and those people were probably dead anyway. But he'd hesitated with Sumner just because he hadn't known what was going on, because it was like something out of a bad horror movie to see him age before his eyes. Not to draw Wraith into a trap. There was something wrong with that place.
As they emerged from the cold oblivion of the gate, Ronon summed it up, spitting on the floor of the jumper (John had to talk to him about that). "They sacrificed those people just to kill six Wraith."
John's report recommended no contact with those people.
malnpudl:Five things John is afraid of:
1) John stops whatever he's doing to listen to the Athosian kids, crouching down beside them as the Marines and Rodney roll their eyes impatiently, puddlejumper hovering in the background. The wind is picking up. "Yeah, that's a pretty cool stick, as sticks go. I had one that was even better."
"Colonel," Rodney huffs, "we've gotta go if we're gonna beat this storm system."
"In a minute," he snaps, and turns back to the kids. "Not that I brought it with me. It was a while ago…."
...
Alone in the jumper, John takes it up into low orbit to watch the sun disappear, blinding gold around the edge of a mostly blue planet swirling with scattered white clouds. It's almost like an eclipse and he worries briefly about his eyes, though he figures it's worth it. He yanks his headset off once Chuck starts squawking, "Colonel Sheppard, is something wrong? You're off your heading…" and remains in orbit as it vanishes.
...
When John catches himself about to say "Not now!" to Rodney, he stops and says, "What?" instead. Even knowing what he's in for. Rodney pauses with open surprise for a moment, then the flood of words washes over John. He's tired and, no, he can't handle it now, but he does it anyway.
...
John also makes sure he looks everyone in the eye, tries not to finish their sentences -- even when he's pretty sure he knows what they're about to say -- because no matter what, John's never gonna be like his dad.
2) John's not afraid of dying, but the day they sent Sgt. Russell to Earth missing half of one leg, he lay back on Rodney's bed, staring at the ceiling for several minutes. He said very seriously, his voice hoarse, "If I'm ever a cripple, if I can't walk… just shoot me. Like a lame horse."
Rodney brushed it off. "Please. I'll build you a robot body."
John thought about that a moment, frowning. A funny look crossed his face as he turned to Rodney. "Like the terminator?"
"More like Luke Skywalker, actually," Rodney answered, not glancing up as he tapped away on his laptop.
"Won't that turn me to the dark side?"
"Well, you'll have to try and curb your propensity for evil."
3) It still makes his hair stand on end. He was sitting in the Sanctuary, trying to do the meditation thing (mostly because he was bored and the place emptied out at meditation time).
Eyes closed, he felt a shadow fall over him, and the rainfall he didn't remember picked up, pattering against the roof of the building as he concentrated harder to ignore it. He was guided, almost as if someone was turning his face, to see a huge distance. Over the endless rolling fields of the entire planet, moving fast. Then he came to the settlement, and all the lives of these people played out on fast-forward. Born, living, dying, the endless repetition and sameness of their lives.
Frustrated and impatient, he lifted away, turned to the sky… and left the planet. In the fathomless deep he found relief.
Then he saw the hive ship. Drawn in, curious and morbidly fascinated, he watched them, larvae, pupae… born, living, dying… essentially the same. The monotony dragged him down and he just wanted to be free of it. He struggled, and the rain sound returned and became a downpour.
John startled awake like a thunderclap. He found himself breathing hard, but still sitting crosslegged in the sun, surrounded by people quietly meditating around him. There was no storm and no Wraith.
He got up and politely left, and never joined them for meditation again. It wasn't supposed to be like that. Peaceful, my ass, he thought. Though he was sure, pretty sure, that it had been just a dream.
4) Okay, he'd promised to go, but that still didn't keep John from cringing when he saw the banner "Welcome, Class of '86!" The bad bubblegum pop music pouring out of tinny speakers in the school gym promised even worse to come. He straightened his tie and kept his mirrored sunglasses on as he picked up his badge.
"Guest of Rodney McKay," he told the overly perky bottle-blond behind the card table. She had on too much make-up and eyed him up and down appreciatively. John grimaced, turning away as he pinned on the nametag.
Rodney returned, grabbed his arm and said, "C'mon! Paul Lambertson's here and once he sees you he's going to make assumptions, he's going to be so right, and then live out the rest of his life in envy. Ha. I bet he only has one doctorate, too." He plowed eagerly into the crowd, dragging John behind him.
John followed gamely, but wondered why Rodney even cared.
5) It wasn't fear, exactly, but definitely a bad vibe. John crawled through the tall grass along the ridgeline, squinting at the scene below. Teyla was at his elbow, flat on the ground, while Rodney behind them swore under his breath.
The Wraith darts had all gone and they'd assumed the culling was over; so six Wraith in the dry fields a hundred feet below had come as something of a surprise. Four men in their clutches screamed, while two Wraith turned to look around for more prey, then backed away as the encircling flames licked closer. Thirty townspeople had lit a back-fire, letting the Wraith feed as a distraction, their bows drawn. At the last moment four arrows sliced through the Wraiths' victims and the men went down, dropped.
"Let's go," John whispered, edging backwards, and got no argument from his team.
As he piloted the jumper into the sky, he was silent, and even Rodney found nothing to say as he punched in the gate coordinates. John sensed Teyla was angry, her chin raised and shoulders rigid.
It's not that he didn't understand, hell, he'd been there when he shot Colonel Sumner, and those people were probably dead anyway. But he'd hesitated with Sumner just because he hadn't known what was going on, because it was like something out of a bad horror movie to see him age before his eyes. Not to draw Wraith into a trap. There was something wrong with that place.
As they emerged from the cold oblivion of the gate, Ronon summed it up, spitting on the floor of the jumper (John had to talk to him about that). "They sacrificed those people just to kill six Wraith."
John's report recommended no contact with those people.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
no subject
Date: 2006-09-09 11:57 pm (UTC)*nudges you*
We finally posted some Ard. The rest is still still with the betas. And it would be better if you could read it all in one chunk. Damn it.
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Date: 2006-09-10 01:40 am (UTC)You know, when I have a slow beta, I "add" a new beta to the team. That way if one person is busy they don't hold up the works. Then I tell them, "No problem, X has got it handled if you don't have time." Then they either hurry up and beta, or they breathe a sigh of relief that their burden of guilt is lifted.
Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 10:47 pm (UTC)(no subject)
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Date: 2006-09-10 12:05 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-10 03:00 am (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 12:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-10 03:18 am (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 12:13 am (UTC)I especially like the first two, and the last one is incredibly chilling. *happyshivers*
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Date: 2006-09-10 04:28 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 01:50 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:47 am (UTC)In the first one, the pacing lead me to start saying huh? but that was the tension build that led to a very nice pay off.
I was worried about that one coming too slow. I should probably take the dots out from between the sections and it'll flow better.
Thank you!
Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 01:54 am (UTC)And, look, your five things were definitely a home run.
(I have never used a baseball metaphor so repeatedly in my life. I'll just slip away now, before the ghost of Babe Ruth comes around and berates me.)
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Date: 2006-09-10 02:12 am (UTC)But look, if you ever what to write a convincing tantric sex story that's not based on that misunderstood bullshit out there, let me know. It involves meditation, breath control, an ability to control your body temperature already with your mind (don't laugh, it's true, and I have American friends who can do it), position, visualization, some recitation, certain dietary restrictions (alcohol's allowed, fruit and cumin is not), years of developing these capacities in separate retreats, a tremendous amount of mental stability -- and you don't come. So it's pretty much useless as sexual pleasure goes.
*smirk* Know someone who got introduced to some of the intermediary stages who was all excited at the prospect. She had these "ideas," you see, from all the "tantric literature," you see. Then she found out what hard physical work it was, that it wasn't fun at all. *smirks wider* She stopped showing up to the practice sessions.
Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 03:46 am (UTC)Come to the dark side, you cannot resist the call of the flist...
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Date: 2006-09-12 12:06 am (UTC)Good point, and very true.
Come to the dark side, you cannot resist the call of the flist...
I usually roll my eyes at the "three things" and "five times that," but these got to be like potato chips, reading the versions from my favorite authors.
Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 05:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-12 01:47 am (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 09:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:24 pm (UTC)Icarus
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From:*POUNCES!*
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Date: 2006-09-10 11:22 am (UTC)Very atmospheric and strangely haunting, and boy can I relate to the first one!
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Date: 2006-09-11 05:17 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 02:41 pm (UTC)He so would :) One that interfaces directly with the jumpers, so John can really feel what it's like to fly.
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Date: 2006-09-11 05:14 pm (UTC)Ooo. That's actually pretty cool.
Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 09:34 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:12 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 10:00 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:05 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-10 10:23 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:03 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-11 02:04 am (UTC)I love this. I think my favorite is the first one because I had no idea where you were going, but that final line made everything make sense. Just perfect.
Also, the second one is so funny and cute in that geeky way.
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Date: 2006-09-11 05:01 pm (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-11 03:39 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:42 am (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-11 04:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:41 am (UTC)Icarus
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Date: 2006-09-11 06:49 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 05:00 pm (UTC)Icarus
hee hee hee
Date: 2006-09-11 07:59 am (UTC)I read this and was about to comment on how good the characterizations were and how the writing style reminded me of
So instead, I'll just say the writing is excellent as always. I especially loved the first and last ones. John not wanting to be his father is fabulous and the people in number 5 get scarier every time I think about them.
Thank you for posting this.
Re: hee hee hee
Date: 2006-09-11 03:10 pm (UTC)I now have (hold onto your hat) 6 whole icons. One of them is even SGA. (WG looked at my usual icon on an SGA post and said, "You need a new icon." If even he's noticed I haven't changed in three years....)
Is my writing style really that detectable/distinctive whatever?
Thank you very much. To tell the truth, I only had ideas for the first and second when I started the meme. I had to wing it on the rest.
Icarus
Re: hee hee hee
From:no subject
Date: 2006-09-11 04:05 pm (UTC)"Won't that turn me to the dark side?"
"Well, you'll have to try and curb your propensity for evil."
that totally wins at life hehe.
the second and last were my fav. thanks for sharing these :)
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Date: 2006-09-11 04:58 pm (UTC)Icarus
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