Music requests; also, why SGA fanon > canon

[exsequar]

I have a music request for you, my dear flist: does anyone have some Tom McRae albums they'd be willing to upload? I specifically would love the song "For the Restless" (thanks bionic!) (obsessive24 made the most gorgeous Firefly/Serenity vid to it, and I often open up the vid just to listen to the song) but I'd also love anything else anyone has to offer, because I've loved every song I've heard by him. Also, there are so many music vids made to his music, because it's so perfect for them (I desperately want to vid the song "A Day Like Today," which was in beerbad's Kara Thrace fanmix, because I can't listen to it without seeing some kind of visuals along with it - it *sounds* like a music video, if that makes any sense) and having more of him to listen to might aid me in future vidding song searches :) Thanks in advance to anyone who can help!

And now, a few brief thoughts on my realization that I greatly prefer SGA fanon to canon. Specifically McShep fanon, but also all the little Atlantis details that have sprung up within all the stories I've read about them (and there have been MANY). Now, don't get me wrong - I love the show. I adore it, it makes me really really happy and it has a lot of rewatch value for me. But it doesn't take itself very seriously, so a lot of the nitty gritty, really thought provoking details that they could include just aren't. And so we write fic! I'm just gonna bullet point a few of the very common fanon tropes that I simply love and wish would be brought into the show.

• John Sheppard's connection to Atlantis. This was set up in the pilot, but they largely dropped the idea that John has a special level of connection to Atlantis with his peculiarly strong ATA gene. It's sort of implied, because he flies the jumpers and operates the chair, but other people can do that too. In fanon, Atlantis speaks to John; John loves Atlantis like he has never let himself love anyone. He can feel her breathe under his hands. He can make requests with his mind and she will immediately comply. It's a gorgeous symbiotic relationship.
  
• Rodney McKay loves symphonic music. It's incredibly mathematical, and it makes so much sense that it would be a particular pleasure for Rodney.
  
• A bunch of really smart people in a pretty much lawless environment with endless new technologies would immediately set up a way to produce pot. This is a given.
  
• Similarly, physicists are surprisingly promiscuous *g*
  
• John's got daddy issues out the wazoo. The details vary from fic to fic, but this is a constant.
  
• John also sucks at relationships with women, because he never lets himself get emotionally close. His relationship with Rodney works because neither of them expect or demand any kind of emotional openness, so they sort of meet on a middle ground where they simply have moments of emotional vulnerability sometimes, then go right back to their normal male selves. These moments are natural and necessary, not forced by "We need to talk"s.
  
• The Athosians! The show kinda kicked them off to the mainland and promptly forgot about them. Hell, Teyla seems to have forgotten about them! It only stands to reason that the Atlanteans would have a close give and take relationship with these people, but they are barely even mentioned in the show. In many fics, the two groups get together for celebrations and relaxation, as well as trade and partnership in various endeavors.
  

I swear there were many more, particularly one about Sheppard, but suffice to say that rarely is the show as emotionally fulfilling or fundamentally real as the fanfic. The exceptions are "The Return" (which had me BAWLING) and "The Tao of Rodney," which is simply the best episode of the entire series thus far, hands down. Oh, Rodney. ♥ I love the show, I do, but my love is kept burning by the incredible authors and stories in this fandom.

I got some great news about Trinity today, or rather my studying there. I went to talk to the Financial Aid office about my merit scholarship and how that was going to be applied. The cost of tuition for the program is significantly less than the amount of my scholarship, so I was wondering if I would get that extra money somehow to pay for housing. And it turns out I will! Whatever the difference is, I will get a CHECK for that amount, which will be around $7,000! And if I have costs beyond that (which I will) I can use Stafford loan money. On top of that, I'll have a good chunk of money from my research scholarship this summer, and my parents are obviously willing to contribute some. So basically, going to live and study for a year in DUBLIN is a financial RELIEF on my family. How incredible is that? Occasionally, life is awesome. :D

Comments

[trinity_clare]

So, um. SGA never sounded like a very interesting show to me, and thus I have never seen any of it. But your fanon makes me want to read fic. Are there any good stories that I can read without knowing the intricacies of canon?

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

SGA is FUN, dude. And it also has one of the slashiest relationships, um, ever. Rodney and John are essentially married by the third season.

Lemme see if I can think of any appropriate fics. They're all gonna be John/Rodney at least partially, because that's ALL I read, but I'll try to find ones that are more general too. I know I read one recently...

Okay. This is an epic, multi-pairing story that basically tells the story of the family of Atlantis. All you need to know is that Atlantis is a city on the water, and it can sink under the water. The big bad guys are the Wraith, and they outnumber the Atlanteans by a lot. The rest should be pretty self explanatory. Nothing else but the mysterious pull of the moon by mirabile_dictu

This one... I don't know if it will affect you, since you don't know the people. I'd be interested to know if it does. It's a future story, focused on Rodney after he's returned to Earth. It's one of the most gorgeous pieces of fiction I've read, period, so I'm curious to know if you enjoy it even though you won't get the subtleties. You don't have to read it if you don't want to, obviously, I just... can't make SGA recs without reccing this. Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose by synecdochic

This is also epic, a love letter to the character of Rodney and what he means to Atlanis. I'm putting it here because it spans a lot of people, not just John and Rodney. I'm also finding that I really adore this author, going through my links :) House of Three Skylarks by mirable_dictu

Super DUPER epic. Wow. This is like the greatest two-parter of SGA that never was. For this one you just need to know that the Genii are an ongoing rival of the Atlanteans. Transcendental by astolat

This was the first SGA fic I ever read. It's AU, McShep, and GLORIOUS. Just a truly fun, beautiful, long story. Very enjoyable even if you don't know the characters, because their versions here get introduced in the process of the AU. So much fun. Bell Curve, or Ladies Night at the Boom Boom Room by rageprufrock

Okay, wow! That's a lotta words! All of these authors have lots of other great work too, so if you go poking around you can have an endless supply, if you happen to get hooked :) Happy reading! And do tell me what you think if you read any of them - I'm very interested to know!

[trinity_clare]

Wow! Thank you! *goes off to read*

SGA recs

[trinity_clare]

Okay, so, I pretty much owe you my soul now. I sat down last night to read all of these finally, and for some reason I didn't read them in the order you gave me, so I ended up reading "House of Three Skylarks", then "Bell Curve", then "Freedom's just another word", and the combination broke me. I cried, I laughed until I cried, then I sobbed my eyes out. And I don't even know what these characters look like. I think I might have to marathon the series this summer or something. This is independent from SG1, right? I don't need that to get this at all, do I?

Re: SGA recs

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Oh oh, I am SO glad!! *heartclench* Skylarks broke me too (RODNEYYY) and Freedom? I just have no words. Out of curiosity - did you understand the undercurrent of John's death and what it meant to Rodney? Because you had read two other stories at that point so I'm just wondering if that connected for you. It's so poignant and perfect.

Oh you should DEFINITELY marathon the series! Eeee! It is independent from SG-1, yes. They explain the things you must know, and there are inevitably references to SG-1 but not many, and it doesn't harm your experience at all to not know the full backstory. Well I guess the one thing you should know is that Rodney started as a guest star on SG-1 and had a huge crush on their team leader, Samantha Carter, lol. I think he has a thing for Airforce Lieutenant Colonels ;)

To help with the what-they-look-like thing... have my favorite cast photo! And a minispam!


From left to right: Teyla Emmagen, Ronon Dex, Rodney McKay, Carson Beckett, Elizabeth Weir, John Sheppard


Rodney the adorable!


John the equally adorable!


Aww, team.


More adorable! (This is actually Joe and David, the actors, behind the scenes.)

*bounces happily* YAY! Atlantis!!

Re: SGA recs

[trinity_clare]

I forgot to comment and say thank you for these! I suspect that Rodney's charm doesn't come across well in posed pictures.

As for your question about the poignancy of the relationship, the closest I can get to answering is this: I still have no idea why these two characters are so close, since I haven't seen any of there interaction, but it's clear that there's a connection there.

It's so strange to read fic with no idea of the canon. I've got a pretty decent grasp of it now, but before I started reading I didn't have a clue. The sum total of my knowledge was "Rodney's a genius scientist, so he's probably kind of socially retarded, and John's a smoking hot military pilot." No exaggeration. I've come to the conclusion that you might actually learn more about characters through fic than through the show, because the really good fics assumes you know them already and then show you new things. But it's odd to read fic and have no basis for how someone talks, or smiles, or eyefucks with costars interacts with people, for example.

Conclusion: This show is getting watched. It'll never know what hit it.

P.S. John's headset/microphone thing in that picture makes it look like he's wearing an earring. HOT.

Re: SGA recs

[exsequar.livejournal.com]

Rodney/David Hewlett is just the most unique guy, and you're right, pictures do not do him justice. I completely fall over myself drooling when I see his arms in those blue tshirts now, but he really isn't the standard idea of hot in any way. But David is just such a warm, absolutely hilarious guy, and that shines into Rodney even though Rodney's kind of an arrogant prick ;) Rodney really is impossible to explain til you've seen him :)

I can imagine how odd it must be! I've never done it for any fandom, I must say. It has to be a lot different than just reading original fiction, because so much is assumed by the writer about the reader. I think it's cool that you'll be coming into the show with the fan perception already in mind though, because like I said in this original post, the fan characters are so much deeper than what's put on the screen. And if you keep THOSE characters in mind while you watch the show, it really is a much richer experience. For instance, one time Rodney asks hypothetically "Have you ever seen a 20 megaton nuclear explosion?" and John goes "I have." And everybody just LOOKS at him, and he adds with a shrug "Not up close." It's an offhand moment of humor, but it makes you think about the horrors of war that John has been through, the real darkness in his past. And it's so so fascinating.

They're practically always wearing the headsets on the show. And yes, they are quite hot, I have no idea why! *laughs*

I can't wait for you to get into Atlantis :D