Happy by IAmRightHere (aka SkyPig21) (K+)
Jan. 28th, 2008 10:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
sholio posting in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png){kind=small}
stargateficrecRec Category: Team
Pairing: none
Category: Atlantis, drama, h/c, gen, Ronon Dex
Warning: drug abuse
Author on LJ:![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
iamrighthere
Author's Website: n/a
Link: Happy
Why This Must Be Read: There are many things I love aboutiamrighthere's stories, but what I love the most is that they're different. The plots are fresh and unpredictable, the writing style terse and brisk and unique, and she uses the characters in interesting ways.
This story is a fantastic example of all of the above. Most writers cast Ronon in the role of the strong one on the team: the backup, the rescuer, the comforter. But "Happy" begins with Ronon's fall -- trying to cope with his despair over the destruction of Sateda, and lingering issues from the Wraith enzyme in "Lost Boys", he becomes addicted to a potentially lethal Pegasus Galaxy drug, and drags his team into trouble with him. Meanwhile, Rodney's obsession with science turns out to be a potentially lethal addiction of its own. I can't say more without giving away the twists and turns of the well-crafted plot, but it's fast-paced, tense and satisfying, with plenty of action and wonderfully understated yet powerful emotion. It's also a frightening portrait of addiction, and the way that it can eat away at a person's soul. The characters are fallible and human, but their loyalty and love for each other is evident in everything they do -- even in betrayal.
A sample
Ronon doesn’t mean to but he can’t help himself. He shoulders McKay aside with a terse apology and strides away from his teammates.
It’s in his quarters, calling to him. Right turn, down the stairs, left turn. Thirty paces. He’s in front of his door. The door opens. He’s ten feet away, five feet. He’s there, holding the small, black thing in his hand.
He places the pod in his mouth and bites down. Sweet bliss. Glorious satiety. His craving is so strong that he wants another before finishing the first. They are precious, though. Too precious to waste like that.
Lying on his bed, watching memories as they flood in around him, Ronon thinks that he is happy.
After a couple of hours, his delight fades. He can’t focus, his limbs shake with chills and then fiery tingles. He doesn’t take very much Happy, so he has yet to feel the brunt of heavy withdrawal and believes that he never will. Yet the compulsion hangs on him. Worst is the darkness, the mindlessness of being alive for one thing, which builds until he is nothing else but this want.
The last time he ran out, Ronon made deals with the gods, promised to forgo food and water and air and sleep if he could have just one, just one, just one.
They are hidden inside a cloth in a dusty corner under his bed. Only eight remain. Soon he will leave on another mission. Someone somewhere will surely have a few pods to barter. Ronon brings things to trade, tucks them here and there about himself. Last time, he traded a flashlight. This time he’s procured a ballpoint pen, which someone may find useful. Worth at least fifteen pods, which will last a couple of weeks.
Although the botanical name for pods varies from planet to planet, they are known galaxy-wide as “Happy.” Wild-grown pods produce a mild euphoria. However, the ones cultivated on the Ruined Planet, where the Vis live, are legendary for their strength.
In the beginning of his need, Ronon tested himself. Shots hit their intended targets. Hand-to-hand showed him consistently victorious. He was still better at defending himself than anyone else in the city.
But that was early on, before he lost himself.
Pairing: none
Category: Atlantis, drama, h/c, gen, Ronon Dex
Warning: drug abuse
Author on LJ:
iamrighthereAuthor's Website: n/a
Link: Happy
Why This Must Be Read: There are many things I love about
iamrighthere's stories, but what I love the most is that they're different. The plots are fresh and unpredictable, the writing style terse and brisk and unique, and she uses the characters in interesting ways.This story is a fantastic example of all of the above. Most writers cast Ronon in the role of the strong one on the team: the backup, the rescuer, the comforter. But "Happy" begins with Ronon's fall -- trying to cope with his despair over the destruction of Sateda, and lingering issues from the Wraith enzyme in "Lost Boys", he becomes addicted to a potentially lethal Pegasus Galaxy drug, and drags his team into trouble with him. Meanwhile, Rodney's obsession with science turns out to be a potentially lethal addiction of its own. I can't say more without giving away the twists and turns of the well-crafted plot, but it's fast-paced, tense and satisfying, with plenty of action and wonderfully understated yet powerful emotion. It's also a frightening portrait of addiction, and the way that it can eat away at a person's soul. The characters are fallible and human, but their loyalty and love for each other is evident in everything they do -- even in betrayal.
A sample
Ronon doesn’t mean to but he can’t help himself. He shoulders McKay aside with a terse apology and strides away from his teammates.
It’s in his quarters, calling to him. Right turn, down the stairs, left turn. Thirty paces. He’s in front of his door. The door opens. He’s ten feet away, five feet. He’s there, holding the small, black thing in his hand.
He places the pod in his mouth and bites down. Sweet bliss. Glorious satiety. His craving is so strong that he wants another before finishing the first. They are precious, though. Too precious to waste like that.
Lying on his bed, watching memories as they flood in around him, Ronon thinks that he is happy.
After a couple of hours, his delight fades. He can’t focus, his limbs shake with chills and then fiery tingles. He doesn’t take very much Happy, so he has yet to feel the brunt of heavy withdrawal and believes that he never will. Yet the compulsion hangs on him. Worst is the darkness, the mindlessness of being alive for one thing, which builds until he is nothing else but this want.
The last time he ran out, Ronon made deals with the gods, promised to forgo food and water and air and sleep if he could have just one, just one, just one.
They are hidden inside a cloth in a dusty corner under his bed. Only eight remain. Soon he will leave on another mission. Someone somewhere will surely have a few pods to barter. Ronon brings things to trade, tucks them here and there about himself. Last time, he traded a flashlight. This time he’s procured a ballpoint pen, which someone may find useful. Worth at least fifteen pods, which will last a couple of weeks.
Although the botanical name for pods varies from planet to planet, they are known galaxy-wide as “Happy.” Wild-grown pods produce a mild euphoria. However, the ones cultivated on the Ruined Planet, where the Vis live, are legendary for their strength.
In the beginning of his need, Ronon tested himself. Shots hit their intended targets. Hand-to-hand showed him consistently victorious. He was still better at defending himself than anyone else in the city.
But that was early on, before he lost himself.
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no subject
Date: 2008-01-29 08:17 am (UTC)Thank you.
no subject
Date: 2008-01-29 08:30 am (UTC)