[fiction] Day 3: Glimpses of the Edge (PG)

[mardahin]

Title: Glimpses of the Edge
Rating: PG
Summary: (Stargate Atlantis) The aftermath of the Alliance of Atlantis, from the perspective of five very different women. Bridges universe, sequel to Bridges You Cross.

14 Valentines: Body Image

Comments

[druidspell]

Ah, another long comment. But I loved this story so much, I couldn't leave anything less.

I've come back to this time and again since you finished it.
He had offered her a way to serve again, a way to help her people one more time instead of dying as one of the nameless on the cold cots of the medical halls. Once you had the shakes, you were no longer counted among the living - you were not strong enough to work, so you were a waste of resources. It's such a coldly practical thing for the Genii to do--when you're too sick to work, you don't matter anymore, you die nameless. And it's heartbreaking, but it's one of the sacrifices that I can easily see people making, because they can't afford to waste precious resources to keep people alive who won't aid the survival of their people in some meaningful way. Prolonging the lives of the sick, in this case, would be an unconscionable waste of resources to the Genii. And the fact that Dahlia is there as living proof of the Genii loyalty to the Alliance of Atlantis is so meaningful to me--

[druidspell]

Miko was firmly of the opinion that if her father had wanted less stress, he would have married a calmer woman, but before going to Atlantis she'd never have even considered voicing the sentiment. Oh, poor Miko. The good daughter, and then the woman who returns isn't the same, but has to try and fit that mold again, even though she's outgrown it. And then her father's diagnosed with cancer just before she has the chance to go back home, and it's not fair, but that's the way life works out sometimes. And this glimpse of Miko: she never could say no when he asked her to do something (asked being the operative word; she'd gotten rather good at saying no when he demanded), so different from the proper lady scientist we saw in "Letters from Pegasus" was amazing. I love that she took a piece of Ancient tech with her that would project the views of home, and that she moved to a district by the sea. And doing the right thing hurts so much sometimes.

[mardahin]

Miko is one of those who I think is most changed by her time in Atlantis, but in the subtlest ways. She went from having a mold to fit to being somewhere that there were no stereotypes to slot into - no proscribed behaviors. The Athosians and the Botanists and the Sociologists and the Marines all mingled interchangably because you never knew who might save your life. Teyla taught her to handle herself, and gave her a physical confidence that she'd never had before. This is a woman who, after 35 sheltered years, stepped onto an alien world under a double sun and shopped the open-air markets without fear.

Miko's story is sad, but that's partly because (IMO) it's so real. People give up dreams and opportunities all the time because something came up and they did the right thing instead of what they wanted for themselves

[mardahin]

Um, can't coherently answer your gushing praise ATM, am currently freezing my ass off in the upstairs room that just got DSL and doesn't have a heat vent (we're getting the space heater tomorrow). Will try to respond to both segments of it later, but suffice it to say "Wow. Um, I'm floored that you got so much out of it."

[grey_bard]

No! Miko! Poor Miko. Here's hoping she finds something to make it better for her.

[mardahin]

Miko ends up founding a grassroots support organization for Atlantis Vets on Earth. Eventually, after her obligations are fulfilled, she does move back to Atlantis; it's just a long time coming.