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stargateficrecRec Category: John Sheppard
Pairing: mention of Teyla Emmagan/Kanaan
Category: John Sheppard, Gen, Angst, Drama, Team, Character Study
Warning: Many, many character deaths, injuries, sadness and tragedy (R rating is for disturbing imagery only)
Author on LJ: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com
Author's Website: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com/616.h
Link: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com/18375.html
Why This Must Be Read: Um...first off, can we just pretend that May has thirty-two days? I apologize both for my lateness and for spamming you with one month's worth of recs in a short period of time. Now that is dealt with, I'm pleased to bring you some more recommendations for the categories of Evan Lorne, Teyla Emmagan and John Sheppard. This rec is for the latter.
Let me warn you from the beginning that The Light of Compassion is not a happy story. Of course, this is vain_glorious, who always plays with readers' emotions with maximum roughness. That said, the author herself has noted that she regards this as one of her saddest and hardest to get through stories. Obey all reader advisories and proceed with caution if you cannot handle what my mother always called "Upsetting Events" (caps implied by tone). This work could almost be categorized as an apocafic. No one walks away unharmed, though some wounds are psychological rather than physical. It's not character whump just for the sake of hurt/comfort. Rather it is vain_glorious' particular brand of brilliance that in The Light of Compassion, the absolute worst that can occur grinds away each character to insightfully reveal their weaknesses and strengths. She leaves the reader shocked but utterly convinced by just how each person unpredictably breaks or rises to the occasion.
The author evokes a palpable sense of foreboding in what should be the happy opening scene of Torren John's first birthday and events spiral downward from there for the denizens of Atlantis. In this reality, Michael's escape at the end of "Search and Rescue" leads to his enacting revenge on the Atlanteans, particularly Teyla, and as an outcome of events, John. The team absorbs a wound inflicted on one member equally amongst themselves and all suffer greatly. Michael strikes out in ever increasingly horrible ways, escalating both the level and extent of harm. John is the only person left physically unscathed at story end. Yet the reader is left with the conclusion that Michael, circumstances and shockingly, his team, have saved the worst fate for John. He is doomed to torture himself with what might have been as he picks up the few shattered remaining pieces of the only family and home he's ever known and to mourn all those he couldn't or wasn't allowed to save.
There are bright spots here beyond the author's characteristically beautiful and emotional prose, particularly the moments of friendship between the team such as when John awkwardly tries to support and comfort Teyla. I especially love every scene involving John and his namesake, Torren, which are realistic, funny, sad, squirm-inducing and hopeful. If I haven't scared you off, please try this moving, tense and wrenching story. You won't regret it.
A snippet...
Torrin John Emmagan’s first birthday party featured a chocolate cake larger than the boy himself and a homemade piñata built from supplies pilfered out of various offices. There was some discussion of fireworks, but that got vetoed by multiple people in the chain of command because it would involve unauthorized use of military equipment for recreational purposes and chances were it would scare the hell out the baby and make his mother hit those people responsible with sticks at some later point.
Kanaan didn’t understand the borrowed rituals any more than Teyla did, but they both were charmed by the excitement spreading across the city. Traditional Athosian celebrations of life were more subdued at this age, since the child was too young to fully participate and still vulnerable to more lethal illnesses of infancy.
“It’s not for the baby,” Dr. Jennifer Keller explained, as she draped another strand of yellow post-it notes that had been glued together in a chain over a railing. “It’s for us.”
Torrin actually slept through most of the party in his honor. It was held during his usual naptime, after all, and he was comfortable in the sling his mother wore on her back. A few people who didn’t know what a tired, angry baby was like tried to wake him up a couple times, but were usually thwarted by those that did
His participation wasn’t fully needed, anyway. The cake was gobbled, even by the Athosians who didn’t really have a sweet tooth. Ronon went to town on the Piñata, looked kind of disappointed when he only had to hit it once and it completely exploded. There were a lot of totally inappropriate baby gifts handed out to Teyla and Kanaan. Most of the Atlantis crew weren’t parents, after all, and didn’t exactly have access to Toys-R-Us. It was the thought that counted, anyway, and McKay promised that if she brought the loot by his lab, he’d measure it all with a caliper to make sure it wouldn’t block Torrin’s windpipe if swallowed.
The birthday boy did finally wake up towards the end. He didn’t have much interest in the gifts. His favorite things in the world since birth – well, secondary to his mom’s breasts, probably – were Ronon’s dreads. He got to ride around on the man’s shoulders clutching them in his little fists and babbling.
Torrin couldn’t really talk yet, but he could say the names of people important to him. Well, the first syllable of their names, anyway. Ma, Da, Ja…he couldn’t yet differentiate between Rodney and Ronon, yet. There were both just “Wo”. Rodney had tried to get him to learn ‘Doctor,’ but that hadn’t worked out. Sheppard had tried to teach him ‘Meredith’.
Eventually, Torrin switched his chant from “Wo” to “Ja” and reached out for someone else to play with. Sheppard went up to take him. Unfortunately, he was carrying a plate with a slice of cake in one hand, and when he grabbed Torrin the kid took a giant scoop of icing in both hands and then immediately planted his palms on the top of Sheppard’s head.
Rodney laughed. “Well,” he said. “He’s got the gist of it.”
It was a well-meaning if weird party. Later, it would be remembered with bittersweet faces, because it would come to mark not only the beginning of Torrin’s life but the end of so many others.
Pairing: mention of Teyla Emmagan/Kanaan
Category: John Sheppard, Gen, Angst, Drama, Team, Character Study
Warning: Many, many character deaths, injuries, sadness and tragedy (R rating is for disturbing imagery only)
Author on LJ: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com
Author's Website: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com/616.h
Link: http://vain-glorious.livejournal.com/18375.html
Why This Must Be Read: Um...first off, can we just pretend that May has thirty-two days? I apologize both for my lateness and for spamming you with one month's worth of recs in a short period of time. Now that is dealt with, I'm pleased to bring you some more recommendations for the categories of Evan Lorne, Teyla Emmagan and John Sheppard. This rec is for the latter.
Let me warn you from the beginning that The Light of Compassion is not a happy story. Of course, this is vain_glorious, who always plays with readers' emotions with maximum roughness. That said, the author herself has noted that she regards this as one of her saddest and hardest to get through stories. Obey all reader advisories and proceed with caution if you cannot handle what my mother always called "Upsetting Events" (caps implied by tone). This work could almost be categorized as an apocafic. No one walks away unharmed, though some wounds are psychological rather than physical. It's not character whump just for the sake of hurt/comfort. Rather it is vain_glorious' particular brand of brilliance that in The Light of Compassion, the absolute worst that can occur grinds away each character to insightfully reveal their weaknesses and strengths. She leaves the reader shocked but utterly convinced by just how each person unpredictably breaks or rises to the occasion.
The author evokes a palpable sense of foreboding in what should be the happy opening scene of Torren John's first birthday and events spiral downward from there for the denizens of Atlantis. In this reality, Michael's escape at the end of "Search and Rescue" leads to his enacting revenge on the Atlanteans, particularly Teyla, and as an outcome of events, John. The team absorbs a wound inflicted on one member equally amongst themselves and all suffer greatly. Michael strikes out in ever increasingly horrible ways, escalating both the level and extent of harm. John is the only person left physically unscathed at story end. Yet the reader is left with the conclusion that Michael, circumstances and shockingly, his team, have saved the worst fate for John. He is doomed to torture himself with what might have been as he picks up the few shattered remaining pieces of the only family and home he's ever known and to mourn all those he couldn't or wasn't allowed to save.
There are bright spots here beyond the author's characteristically beautiful and emotional prose, particularly the moments of friendship between the team such as when John awkwardly tries to support and comfort Teyla. I especially love every scene involving John and his namesake, Torren, which are realistic, funny, sad, squirm-inducing and hopeful. If I haven't scared you off, please try this moving, tense and wrenching story. You won't regret it.
A snippet...
Torrin John Emmagan’s first birthday party featured a chocolate cake larger than the boy himself and a homemade piñata built from supplies pilfered out of various offices. There was some discussion of fireworks, but that got vetoed by multiple people in the chain of command because it would involve unauthorized use of military equipment for recreational purposes and chances were it would scare the hell out the baby and make his mother hit those people responsible with sticks at some later point.
Kanaan didn’t understand the borrowed rituals any more than Teyla did, but they both were charmed by the excitement spreading across the city. Traditional Athosian celebrations of life were more subdued at this age, since the child was too young to fully participate and still vulnerable to more lethal illnesses of infancy.
“It’s not for the baby,” Dr. Jennifer Keller explained, as she draped another strand of yellow post-it notes that had been glued together in a chain over a railing. “It’s for us.”
Torrin actually slept through most of the party in his honor. It was held during his usual naptime, after all, and he was comfortable in the sling his mother wore on her back. A few people who didn’t know what a tired, angry baby was like tried to wake him up a couple times, but were usually thwarted by those that did
His participation wasn’t fully needed, anyway. The cake was gobbled, even by the Athosians who didn’t really have a sweet tooth. Ronon went to town on the Piñata, looked kind of disappointed when he only had to hit it once and it completely exploded. There were a lot of totally inappropriate baby gifts handed out to Teyla and Kanaan. Most of the Atlantis crew weren’t parents, after all, and didn’t exactly have access to Toys-R-Us. It was the thought that counted, anyway, and McKay promised that if she brought the loot by his lab, he’d measure it all with a caliper to make sure it wouldn’t block Torrin’s windpipe if swallowed.
The birthday boy did finally wake up towards the end. He didn’t have much interest in the gifts. His favorite things in the world since birth – well, secondary to his mom’s breasts, probably – were Ronon’s dreads. He got to ride around on the man’s shoulders clutching them in his little fists and babbling.
Torrin couldn’t really talk yet, but he could say the names of people important to him. Well, the first syllable of their names, anyway. Ma, Da, Ja…he couldn’t yet differentiate between Rodney and Ronon, yet. There were both just “Wo”. Rodney had tried to get him to learn ‘Doctor,’ but that hadn’t worked out. Sheppard had tried to teach him ‘Meredith’.
Eventually, Torrin switched his chant from “Wo” to “Ja” and reached out for someone else to play with. Sheppard went up to take him. Unfortunately, he was carrying a plate with a slice of cake in one hand, and when he grabbed Torrin the kid took a giant scoop of icing in both hands and then immediately planted his palms on the top of Sheppard’s head.
Rodney laughed. “Well,” he said. “He’s got the gist of it.”
It was a well-meaning if weird party. Later, it would be remembered with bittersweet faces, because it would come to mark not only the beginning of Torrin’s life but the end of so many others.
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