Surface Impressions v. Inner Realities by ShaViva (PG) & The Turn of the Leaf by Eildon Rhymer (PG)

[asugar.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: John Sheppard
Pairing: None
Category: John Sheppard, Episode related, Gen, John Sheppard & Teyla Emmagan friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Character study
Warning: Recreation of a certain notorious scene in "Remnants"
Author on LJ: none known and http://rhymer23.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: http://www.fanfiction.net/u/1555188/ShaViva or http://shaviva.webs.com/index.htm
and http://www.rhymer.org.uk/ or http://www.fanfiction.net/u/882087/Eildon_Rhymer
Link: http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4661056/1/Surface_Impressions_versus_Inner_Realities
and http://rhymer23.livejournal.com/50395.html or http://www.fanfiction.net/s/4669549/1/The_Fall_of_the_Leaf

Why This Must Be Read: "Remnants" made canon what was already fanon: John Sheppard might benefit from some psychotherapy. The episode was ripe with clues to what makes him tick: how deeply unhappy and broken he is under his facade and his isolation and loneliness. In his delusion, he is noticeably alone, without allies or rescue and literally the last man standing. It speaks volumes about what he thinks of himself that he chose to torture and punish himself that way. Rightfully or not, he blames himself for everything. In the end, aren't we always our own harshest critics and most merciless tormentors?

It saddens me the show ended without resolving anything, leaving him in a tortured mental state with this and the even gloomier “Vegas” as the final word on Sheppard. It's such a dark fate. Luckily fanfic writers have been willing to clean up TPTB's mess. My favorite two tags are very different yet equally well-done character studies.

In the thoughtful and evocative Surface Impressions Versus Inner Realities, John is still trying to repress his encounter with his inner demons when the team goes to make a trade deal with a people who request that John allow their priestess to perform a mind-reading truth ritual on him. When he tries to refuse, they allow Teyla to remain present to step in when needed. John’s forced to undergo a post-mortem of his delusion and just what he feels so guilty about and why. The John and Teyla friendship thread throughout is lovely. ShaViva imbues the interactions between them and the priestess with a needed honesty and sense of trust and emotional intimacy. I like the realism and that John’s not magically better by the end but he is finally ready to let his team help him heal.

Eildon Rhymer insightfully analyzes John and Ronon's neuroses and gives some closure to both “Remnants” and “Broken Ties” in The Turn of the Leaf. This story is a classic whumper/hurt/comfort tale. John and Ronon’s lingering emotional fragility leaves them vulnerable when the team encounters something sinister and powerful in some ancient ruins offworld. John and Ronon are trapped in cruel and vivid delusions. Ronon turns on John and John turns on himself leading to quite a beating for both. When they are brought back to Atlantis by the horrified Rodney and Teyla, the emotional aftermath is much more harrowing than their physical recoveries.