TVU Challenge 312: Romancing The Trope (PG)
For the TVU challenge 3.12, Romance Of The Tropes challenge square
Seven Farscape minifics, 1 waffle and an embarrassingly amateur cap-montage under the cut:
My Favourite Pairing:
My favourite pairing is Aeryn and John from Farscape. So far so obvious. However, when I first watched the show, being a hopeless romantic who is also hopeless at romance (I can give examples that will make you wince), I didn’t even realise that they were meant to be The Couple for an embarrassingly long time: it only started to dawn on me well into series two. Even then I thought the show was being inconsistent, having them all lovey-dovey one moment and ignoring each other the next. Only since immersing myself in the fandom have I come to appreciate their shippy awesomeness with the aid of my fellow (mostly female) fans. So, lesson number one: Us men may or may not be romantics but even if we are we still have as little clue about romance and relationships as poor Aeryn. So please, it may seem obvious to you jirls, but it isn’t to (all of) us guys: cut us some slack or we’ll end up grumping at each other for most of Season 4 for no very good reason.
And now, on to some fics (also known as my way of trying to untangle and comprehend this confusing Relationship Business):
Meet Cute: (Episode 1.01, Premiere)
Commander John Crichton, astronaut blinked, trying to clear the stars from his eyes and remember where he was.
Oh yes, lying on his back on a cell floor in an alien space ship, pinned down by the space babe in the mean-looking black flight suit who was sitting on his chest, pinning his arms beneath her knees. She couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds soaking wet and yet she’d taken him down, a fit, strong astronaut nearly twice her weight, and all without breaking a sweat. And now she was staring down at him with a curious mix of boredom, aggression and…. Was that really a hint of the sexual predator or was he imagining it? His face was so close to her crotch he could practically sick his tongue out and lick…
He wasn’t sure whether to be turned on or terrified.
Flirting Under Fire (Episode 1.04, Throne For A Loss)
“Now!” John barked his order to Pilot, just as D’Argo, their angry, drug-hyped shipmate was on the cusp of discovering where he and Aeryn had been hiding.
Moya lurched violently, sending D’Argo tumbling to the floor. The big Luxan struck his head on something and fortunately fell unconscious. John would have, should have had his entire attention on D’Argo and the gauntlet - half drug delivery system half weapon. However, he was struggling to concentrate what with the fact that he was having to deal with one heck of a distraction at that moment.
Dislodged by the violent movement of their ship, Aeryn had fallen on top of him and they had come to rest in a thoroughly intimate spoon. Her whole back was pressed tight against his front, with his arm wrapped around her chest pushing up her boobs. Her neck and ear, enticingly exposed by the fall of her hair across his head, were within kissing distance. If only he wasn’t so scared that she’d do him serious harm he’d have closed the gap and kissed her cheek.
“That was your plan?” Aeryn snapped. She was such a romantic.
“Yeah, pretty good, huh?”
“Barely! That is the LAST time I go with one of your plans!” she protested. Perhaps protested too much, thought John: He was pretty sure he hadn’t imagined that she had pushed her ass against his crotch and had made sure that his hand had brushed across her boobs as she had got up.
Maybe he should ask her on a date later?
Like An Old Married Couple (Episode 2.16, The Locket)
“Whose image you got in here, anyway?” John asked, lifting Aeryn’s locket from where she had dropped it and hefting it in his hand, as though by weighing it he could determine the answer to his question.
“You know who’s in there,” Aeryn replied, her voice steady, her gaze locked on his, still challenging despite their advanced years.
“Yer husband? He’s been dead 90 cycles,” John replied, so sure of himself. “Why would you have his image in there?”
“Just to drive you crazy,” Aeryn replied, the years having taught her to give as good as she got in this game.
“You know what I think?” Aeryn shrugged, as though to say it didn’t matter and she didn’t really care. “I don’t think it’s him in there. I think you’ve got my picture.”
A whole lifetime they’d spent stuck on this planet. And now they were both old, beyond old. What did it matter if he knew the truth now? Why had it ever mattered? She wasn’t sure any more. But still, with so little time now left before them and so much behind and unchangeable, still she couldn’t seem to abandon their old, standoffish ways.
“Open it then,” Aeryn’s heart beat faster. Would he do it, would he call her bluff? Would he finally learn the truth, the truth they both knew but would not admit? “Take a look inside, You’ll see his image. The only love of my life.”
John paused, as though considering all the possibilities, as though planning his next move in one of his games of chess: Was it better to know her dead husband was her one true love, or to have confirmed that it was him, John Crichton: either would end their long dance? Or was it better to stay guessing, to keep playing the game? “No. No, I don’t want to see his ugly face,” he said as he handed the locket back to her with an enigmatic smile.
Headbutt Of Love (Episode 3.10, Relativity)
It had been one hell of a day. It had started pleasantly enough, with he and Aeryn in bed teasing Rygel and Stark on the other side of the bulkhead by pretending to be enjoying noisy sex. Since then Xhalax, Aeryn’s mother, had attacked them, and had nearly killed Rygel and Talyn, only to be executed herself by Crais. And John had learnt something of Crais’ duplicity. Now as the night drew on Aeryn was piloting Talyn away from the planet while Crais tried to repair Talyn enough so that he could pilot himself.
“My…. Xhalax…. Was my last connection to the Peacekeepers,” she whispered to John. “All my ties to them are now completely severed.”
“I know,” John replied, resting his forehead against hers and gently stroking her face as she fought to hold back her tears.
Moment Killer (episode 4.06, Natural Election)
Aeryn stood watching the rest of the crew on Command, all gathered around John, encouraging his frelling wormwhole obsession, fawning over him. She had never felt such a frelling outsider, not even in her earliest days aboard Moya.
She stepped inside the chamber and caught John’s eye, snaring his attention from his latest groupie, Sikozu, the pretty red-headed Khalish newcomer.
“Would you excuse us?” Aeryn dismissed her would-be female rival. If only it were that easy to dismiss wormholes Aeryn mused as Sikozu retreated with no more than a defeated sigh. “Can I speak to you.” She addressed John now. “Quite a few things I'd like to say.”
“There's a lot of things I'd like to hear. I'd like to offer you a drink, but…” John dropped his gaze to her abdomen, to the baby.
“My quarters.” Aeryn stated. She turned to go and he took a step to follow her. But before they could even leave Command the whole room was lit up by a flare of watery blue light. Aeryn watched in helpless disbelief as John turned and began to walk towards the wormhole now visible through the viewport. The petty affairs of a human and a sebacean seemed to be completely forgotten by him as the wormhole worked its diabolical, hypnotic spell on him.
Frell! Frell! Frell! Aeryn screamed inwardly. Couldn’t we have had just five frelling macrots!? Was that too much to ask!?
Everyone Can See It (Episode 4.14, Twice Shy)
The scene before Scorpius was vaguely amusing, even to a man with his… unconventional… passions. Chiana, the Nebari girl, had Crichton pinned to the table and seemed determined to have sexual congress with him.
“W-w-what's gotten into you?” John asked, trying to hold Chiana at arm’s length.
“Nothing - yet,” she giggled as she tried to writhe through his hands and get closer.
“Oh-ho-hokay! I just figured out what you need! You need a cold shower!” John countered, but that only seemed to cause her to writhe with more determination.
“It's okay! I asked Aeryn - she said she didn't care about you anyway.”
“Yes she does.”
“No she doesn't.”
“We're happy.” John protested. “She loves me.” At that microt the metaphorical scales fell from Scorpius’ eyes. Aeryn. Officer Sun. Love: Leverage to make Crichton cooperate, to bend the human to his will.
Scorpius filed his new found yet critical insight into Crichton for later reference and exploitation: right now they had a more pressing problem to deal with.
“John?” Scorpius cleared his throat.
I Will Find You (Episode 4.16, Bringing Home The Beacon)
John Crichton crouched on Command beside the dead body of the bioloid copy of Aeryn. Half of its face had been destroyed by his own point-blank shot. The devastation wrought on her features matched the hurt in his chest, the feeling that half of his soul had been torn away and destroyed, too by Aeryn’s loss.
D’Argo and the others had tried to explain to him what they thought had happened: he had only been able to half register their words. Apparently there had been Scarrans on the commerce station. Aeryn had sent Sikozu back to the pod and had stayed in a strategic position on the station to ensure the other women could get away. When she had finally shown up at the pod they had fled the station, not knowing that Aeryn had now been replaced by the bioloid copy.
So, somewhere out there, in the vast emptiness of space, the Scarrans, the merciless, implacable Scarrans had Aeryn. If she wasnt already dead... No, he refused to accept that possibility. Still, he had never felt more helpless, hopeless and empty in his life.
The Four Loves ((Episode 4.22, Bad Timing)
Family affection, romance, friendship, unconditional love
For my last segment I’m not going to do a fic or write any words that might ‘spoil’ you if you haven’t seen the show. Just some pictures. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll understand….
Seven Farscape minifics, 1 waffle and an embarrassingly amateur cap-montage under the cut:
My Favourite Pairing:
My favourite pairing is Aeryn and John from Farscape. So far so obvious. However, when I first watched the show, being a hopeless romantic who is also hopeless at romance (I can give examples that will make you wince), I didn’t even realise that they were meant to be The Couple for an embarrassingly long time: it only started to dawn on me well into series two. Even then I thought the show was being inconsistent, having them all lovey-dovey one moment and ignoring each other the next. Only since immersing myself in the fandom have I come to appreciate their shippy awesomeness with the aid of my fellow (mostly female) fans. So, lesson number one: Us men may or may not be romantics but even if we are we still have as little clue about romance and relationships as poor Aeryn. So please, it may seem obvious to you jirls, but it isn’t to (all of) us guys: cut us some slack or we’ll end up grumping at each other for most of Season 4 for no very good reason.
And now, on to some fics (also known as my way of trying to untangle and comprehend this confusing Relationship Business):
Meet Cute: (Episode 1.01, Premiere)
Commander John Crichton, astronaut blinked, trying to clear the stars from his eyes and remember where he was.
Oh yes, lying on his back on a cell floor in an alien space ship, pinned down by the space babe in the mean-looking black flight suit who was sitting on his chest, pinning his arms beneath her knees. She couldn’t have weighed more than 100 pounds soaking wet and yet she’d taken him down, a fit, strong astronaut nearly twice her weight, and all without breaking a sweat. And now she was staring down at him with a curious mix of boredom, aggression and…. Was that really a hint of the sexual predator or was he imagining it? His face was so close to her crotch he could practically sick his tongue out and lick…
He wasn’t sure whether to be turned on or terrified.
Flirting Under Fire (Episode 1.04, Throne For A Loss)
“Now!” John barked his order to Pilot, just as D’Argo, their angry, drug-hyped shipmate was on the cusp of discovering where he and Aeryn had been hiding.
Moya lurched violently, sending D’Argo tumbling to the floor. The big Luxan struck his head on something and fortunately fell unconscious. John would have, should have had his entire attention on D’Argo and the gauntlet - half drug delivery system half weapon. However, he was struggling to concentrate what with the fact that he was having to deal with one heck of a distraction at that moment.
Dislodged by the violent movement of their ship, Aeryn had fallen on top of him and they had come to rest in a thoroughly intimate spoon. Her whole back was pressed tight against his front, with his arm wrapped around her chest pushing up her boobs. Her neck and ear, enticingly exposed by the fall of her hair across his head, were within kissing distance. If only he wasn’t so scared that she’d do him serious harm he’d have closed the gap and kissed her cheek.
“That was your plan?” Aeryn snapped. She was such a romantic.
“Yeah, pretty good, huh?”
“Barely! That is the LAST time I go with one of your plans!” she protested. Perhaps protested too much, thought John: He was pretty sure he hadn’t imagined that she had pushed her ass against his crotch and had made sure that his hand had brushed across her boobs as she had got up.
Maybe he should ask her on a date later?
Like An Old Married Couple (Episode 2.16, The Locket)
“Whose image you got in here, anyway?” John asked, lifting Aeryn’s locket from where she had dropped it and hefting it in his hand, as though by weighing it he could determine the answer to his question.
“You know who’s in there,” Aeryn replied, her voice steady, her gaze locked on his, still challenging despite their advanced years.
“Yer husband? He’s been dead 90 cycles,” John replied, so sure of himself. “Why would you have his image in there?”
“Just to drive you crazy,” Aeryn replied, the years having taught her to give as good as she got in this game.
“You know what I think?” Aeryn shrugged, as though to say it didn’t matter and she didn’t really care. “I don’t think it’s him in there. I think you’ve got my picture.”
A whole lifetime they’d spent stuck on this planet. And now they were both old, beyond old. What did it matter if he knew the truth now? Why had it ever mattered? She wasn’t sure any more. But still, with so little time now left before them and so much behind and unchangeable, still she couldn’t seem to abandon their old, standoffish ways.
“Open it then,” Aeryn’s heart beat faster. Would he do it, would he call her bluff? Would he finally learn the truth, the truth they both knew but would not admit? “Take a look inside, You’ll see his image. The only love of my life.”
John paused, as though considering all the possibilities, as though planning his next move in one of his games of chess: Was it better to know her dead husband was her one true love, or to have confirmed that it was him, John Crichton: either would end their long dance? Or was it better to stay guessing, to keep playing the game? “No. No, I don’t want to see his ugly face,” he said as he handed the locket back to her with an enigmatic smile.
Headbutt Of Love (Episode 3.10, Relativity)
It had been one hell of a day. It had started pleasantly enough, with he and Aeryn in bed teasing Rygel and Stark on the other side of the bulkhead by pretending to be enjoying noisy sex. Since then Xhalax, Aeryn’s mother, had attacked them, and had nearly killed Rygel and Talyn, only to be executed herself by Crais. And John had learnt something of Crais’ duplicity. Now as the night drew on Aeryn was piloting Talyn away from the planet while Crais tried to repair Talyn enough so that he could pilot himself.
“My…. Xhalax…. Was my last connection to the Peacekeepers,” she whispered to John. “All my ties to them are now completely severed.”
“I know,” John replied, resting his forehead against hers and gently stroking her face as she fought to hold back her tears.
Moment Killer (episode 4.06, Natural Election)
Aeryn stood watching the rest of the crew on Command, all gathered around John, encouraging his frelling wormwhole obsession, fawning over him. She had never felt such a frelling outsider, not even in her earliest days aboard Moya.
She stepped inside the chamber and caught John’s eye, snaring his attention from his latest groupie, Sikozu, the pretty red-headed Khalish newcomer.
“Would you excuse us?” Aeryn dismissed her would-be female rival. If only it were that easy to dismiss wormholes Aeryn mused as Sikozu retreated with no more than a defeated sigh. “Can I speak to you.” She addressed John now. “Quite a few things I'd like to say.”
“There's a lot of things I'd like to hear. I'd like to offer you a drink, but…” John dropped his gaze to her abdomen, to the baby.
“My quarters.” Aeryn stated. She turned to go and he took a step to follow her. But before they could even leave Command the whole room was lit up by a flare of watery blue light. Aeryn watched in helpless disbelief as John turned and began to walk towards the wormhole now visible through the viewport. The petty affairs of a human and a sebacean seemed to be completely forgotten by him as the wormhole worked its diabolical, hypnotic spell on him.
Frell! Frell! Frell! Aeryn screamed inwardly. Couldn’t we have had just five frelling macrots!? Was that too much to ask!?
Everyone Can See It (Episode 4.14, Twice Shy)
The scene before Scorpius was vaguely amusing, even to a man with his… unconventional… passions. Chiana, the Nebari girl, had Crichton pinned to the table and seemed determined to have sexual congress with him.
“W-w-what's gotten into you?” John asked, trying to hold Chiana at arm’s length.
“Nothing - yet,” she giggled as she tried to writhe through his hands and get closer.
“Oh-ho-hokay! I just figured out what you need! You need a cold shower!” John countered, but that only seemed to cause her to writhe with more determination.
“It's okay! I asked Aeryn - she said she didn't care about you anyway.”
“Yes she does.”
“No she doesn't.”
“We're happy.” John protested. “She loves me.” At that microt the metaphorical scales fell from Scorpius’ eyes. Aeryn. Officer Sun. Love: Leverage to make Crichton cooperate, to bend the human to his will.
Scorpius filed his new found yet critical insight into Crichton for later reference and exploitation: right now they had a more pressing problem to deal with.
“John?” Scorpius cleared his throat.
I Will Find You (Episode 4.16, Bringing Home The Beacon)
John Crichton crouched on Command beside the dead body of the bioloid copy of Aeryn. Half of its face had been destroyed by his own point-blank shot. The devastation wrought on her features matched the hurt in his chest, the feeling that half of his soul had been torn away and destroyed, too by Aeryn’s loss.
D’Argo and the others had tried to explain to him what they thought had happened: he had only been able to half register their words. Apparently there had been Scarrans on the commerce station. Aeryn had sent Sikozu back to the pod and had stayed in a strategic position on the station to ensure the other women could get away. When she had finally shown up at the pod they had fled the station, not knowing that Aeryn had now been replaced by the bioloid copy.
So, somewhere out there, in the vast emptiness of space, the Scarrans, the merciless, implacable Scarrans had Aeryn. If she wasnt already dead... No, he refused to accept that possibility. Still, he had never felt more helpless, hopeless and empty in his life.
The Four Loves ((Episode 4.22, Bad Timing)
Family affection, romance, friendship, unconditional love
For my last segment I’m not going to do a fic or write any words that might ‘spoil’ you if you haven’t seen the show. Just some pictures. If you’ve seen the show, you’ll understand….