Necessary Things by minnow1212 and Necessary Things Remix (settling the balance) by bluflamingo (G)
Rec Category: John Sheppard
Pairing: None
Category: John Sheppard, Gen, Angst, Episode related, Rodney McKay, Character Study, Comedy, Kavanaugh
Warning: an inability to fly in a straight line?
Author on LJ: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/ and http://bluflamingo.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/193993.html and http://bluflamingo.zonezine.net/index.html
Link: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/204661.html and http://community.livejournal.com/gateverse_remix/19589.html
Why This Must Be Read: In Necessary Things, set in the months after the siege ends and before they return to Earth for debrief, Rodney distracts himself from his emotions by embarking on a quest for music, specifically access to Kavanaugh's ipod. Their face-offs are every bit as hilarious as you'd expect. Rodney works on creating an Atlantis music library from everyone's collections, getting his hands on Kavanaugh's music, and debating just what the Ancients' music might have been like (I laughed out loud when he and John come up with lyrics for Ancient country songs). However, he and the reader slowly begin to notice subtle signs that all is not well with John. The story is cleverly structured and Sheppard is so busy with Caldwell, the (remaining) new military personnel and the clean-up that more than half the story goes by before the real A-plot becomes clear. Sheppard is a master of concealing his emotions and skillfully uses distractions to avoid discussing emotions (one such misdirection tactic, a previously unknown system that he reveals to Rodney is a quite elegant concept). Rodney is easily forgiven for how long it takes him to catch on. Eventually though, Rodney does realize what Teyla already recognized and tried to tell him; unlike the rest of them, Sheppard has not moved on from the grief and pain for those they lost and is still struggling for closure.
The thought and care that must have gone into this is obvious and I can only marvel at how easy the author makes it look to balance the pacing and emotions in this witty, melancholy and bittersweet character study. It's a gorgeous and deceptively light piece that haunted me long after I finished reading.
You also must read the note-perfect remix, more a missing scene, of the story. Rodney barters a flying lesson on the jumpers from Sheppard to Kavanaugh in Necessary Things. That lesson is the the subject of bluflamingo's sad and subtle remix, Necessary Things (settling the balance). The flying lesson is both every bit as awful as John expected and not awful at all. It takes a very talented author to make Kavanaugh sympathetic and she captures John's wit, sarcasm, anguish and loyalty wonderfully. The moment he simultaneously relishes the experience of flying a jumper and pines for the sound of rotors overhead made my chest hurt. I appreciate how insightfully she conveys John's turmoil and deepens my enjoyment of what was already a favorite story. I love both these authors and would recommend everything they've written; their styles are quite different and bluflamingo must be commended for how the remix feels true to both her own work and that of the original's author.
A snippet of Necessary Things...
"All right, then," Elizabeth said, although she didn't look entirely convinced in his abilities to do so. "You know, I do seem to remember seeing Sergeant Matthiesen and...was it Jenkins?...with iPods at some point. Maybe you can ask them. And surely there have to be others as well."
"Waterlogged and smashed," Rodney said with a sigh. "And yes, other people brought iPods, but they broke or they've been used for storing other files or they got lost offworld or they went through the laundry or, well, they belong to people with atrocious taste in music. You'd think it would be statistically improbable for someone to fill an entire iPod with songs I loathe, but Captain Friedman managed it."
"Ah." Weir looked up as the door to the conference room opened to admit Sergeant Tiers. "Rebekah, nice to see you again."
"You too, Dr. Weir. Hi, Dr. McKay," Tiers said cheerfully. Rodney smiled weakly and lifted a hand to wave at her. He was in a bad mood, true, but it was hard to sulk at Sergeant Tiers. The acting head of security while Bates slowly recovered, she was three inches taller than Rodney and could easily kick his ass, and Rodney had always found that oddly attractive in a woman. Also she was remarkably upbeat and perky and friendly, much more so than Bates had been. Prettier than Bates, too. And the way she was still so damned enthused about Atlantis was after spending two months here was…nice. "Oh, hello, Dr. Beckett, Dr. Zelenka," she added, smiling widely as Carson and Radek filed in.
Of course, she was upbeat and friendly and enthusiastic to everyone, Rodney thought with a touch of wistfulness, which made it difficult to convince himself that she was smiling because she was happy to see him.
"No go on Kavanagh," he muttered to Zelenka as the other man sat down next to him, and Radek sighed.
"Wonderful. My choice of Vivaldi or Brazilian techno, and if I do not listen to music while I work than I have to listen to Gorsen's muttering. Talk, talk, talk while he works."
"I'd share my music, except, wait, you wiped all my mp3s off my laptop," Rodney said.
Zelenka looked exasperated. "Yes, I am most terribly sorry. If we had had to flee the Wraith, I am sure we would have been consoled in our exile by the collected works of They Might Be Giants." He held up one hand in the air and said, "Remnants of Ancient database." He held up the other hand as if weighing scales. "Particle Man. Such a dilemma it was."
Pairing: None
Category: John Sheppard, Gen, Angst, Episode related, Rodney McKay, Character Study, Comedy, Kavanaugh
Warning: an inability to fly in a straight line?
Author on LJ: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/ and http://bluflamingo.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/193993.html and http://bluflamingo.zonezine.net/index.html
Link: http://minnow1212.livejournal.com/204661.html and http://community.livejournal.com/gateverse_remix/19589.html
Why This Must Be Read: In Necessary Things, set in the months after the siege ends and before they return to Earth for debrief, Rodney distracts himself from his emotions by embarking on a quest for music, specifically access to Kavanaugh's ipod. Their face-offs are every bit as hilarious as you'd expect. Rodney works on creating an Atlantis music library from everyone's collections, getting his hands on Kavanaugh's music, and debating just what the Ancients' music might have been like (I laughed out loud when he and John come up with lyrics for Ancient country songs). However, he and the reader slowly begin to notice subtle signs that all is not well with John. The story is cleverly structured and Sheppard is so busy with Caldwell, the (remaining) new military personnel and the clean-up that more than half the story goes by before the real A-plot becomes clear. Sheppard is a master of concealing his emotions and skillfully uses distractions to avoid discussing emotions (one such misdirection tactic, a previously unknown system that he reveals to Rodney is a quite elegant concept). Rodney is easily forgiven for how long it takes him to catch on. Eventually though, Rodney does realize what Teyla already recognized and tried to tell him; unlike the rest of them, Sheppard has not moved on from the grief and pain for those they lost and is still struggling for closure.
The thought and care that must have gone into this is obvious and I can only marvel at how easy the author makes it look to balance the pacing and emotions in this witty, melancholy and bittersweet character study. It's a gorgeous and deceptively light piece that haunted me long after I finished reading.
You also must read the note-perfect remix, more a missing scene, of the story. Rodney barters a flying lesson on the jumpers from Sheppard to Kavanaugh in Necessary Things. That lesson is the the subject of bluflamingo's sad and subtle remix, Necessary Things (settling the balance). The flying lesson is both every bit as awful as John expected and not awful at all. It takes a very talented author to make Kavanaugh sympathetic and she captures John's wit, sarcasm, anguish and loyalty wonderfully. The moment he simultaneously relishes the experience of flying a jumper and pines for the sound of rotors overhead made my chest hurt. I appreciate how insightfully she conveys John's turmoil and deepens my enjoyment of what was already a favorite story. I love both these authors and would recommend everything they've written; their styles are quite different and bluflamingo must be commended for how the remix feels true to both her own work and that of the original's author.
A snippet of Necessary Things...
"All right, then," Elizabeth said, although she didn't look entirely convinced in his abilities to do so. "You know, I do seem to remember seeing Sergeant Matthiesen and...was it Jenkins?...with iPods at some point. Maybe you can ask them. And surely there have to be others as well."
"Waterlogged and smashed," Rodney said with a sigh. "And yes, other people brought iPods, but they broke or they've been used for storing other files or they got lost offworld or they went through the laundry or, well, they belong to people with atrocious taste in music. You'd think it would be statistically improbable for someone to fill an entire iPod with songs I loathe, but Captain Friedman managed it."
"Ah." Weir looked up as the door to the conference room opened to admit Sergeant Tiers. "Rebekah, nice to see you again."
"You too, Dr. Weir. Hi, Dr. McKay," Tiers said cheerfully. Rodney smiled weakly and lifted a hand to wave at her. He was in a bad mood, true, but it was hard to sulk at Sergeant Tiers. The acting head of security while Bates slowly recovered, she was three inches taller than Rodney and could easily kick his ass, and Rodney had always found that oddly attractive in a woman. Also she was remarkably upbeat and perky and friendly, much more so than Bates had been. Prettier than Bates, too. And the way she was still so damned enthused about Atlantis was after spending two months here was…nice. "Oh, hello, Dr. Beckett, Dr. Zelenka," she added, smiling widely as Carson and Radek filed in.
Of course, she was upbeat and friendly and enthusiastic to everyone, Rodney thought with a touch of wistfulness, which made it difficult to convince himself that she was smiling because she was happy to see him.
"No go on Kavanagh," he muttered to Zelenka as the other man sat down next to him, and Radek sighed.
"Wonderful. My choice of Vivaldi or Brazilian techno, and if I do not listen to music while I work than I have to listen to Gorsen's muttering. Talk, talk, talk while he works."
"I'd share my music, except, wait, you wiped all my mp3s off my laptop," Rodney said.
Zelenka looked exasperated. "Yes, I am most terribly sorry. If we had had to flee the Wraith, I am sure we would have been consoled in our exile by the collected works of They Might Be Giants." He held up one hand in the air and said, "Remnants of Ancient database." He held up the other hand as if weighing scales. "Particle Man. Such a dilemma it was."