FIC: Without a Paddle (Twisting the Twilight Zone Challenge)

[greyias]

Title: Without a Paddle
Notes: Written for the 2009 "Twisting the Twilight Zone" challenge (enter_tzone) for the prompt "The Fever"
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Gen, H/C, Action/Adventure
Word Count: ~10,300
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard
Warnings: A teensy bit of language, maybe? Unrepetant H/C?
Spoilers: Takes place sometime between "Quarantine" and "

Comments

[danceswithgary]

A muppet 'YAY' for posting! I'll be back later after I read. I've really been looking forward to this. :-D

[greyias]

\o/ Thank you so much for keeping the challenge open so long, especially for the stragglers like me *g* Hopefully the story doesn't disappoint!

[sholio]

Awwww~! I really needed this -- just some good ol' fashioned h/c and snark with our silly, emotionally constipated boys. The John-as-Kevlar scene and feverish Rodney scrambling for the gun were particularly meltworthy. Nice balance with the funny bits to keep it from being too angsty (like I'd expect anything else from one of your stories *g*) and I also loved how neither of them realized at first what was wrong with him -- having written "unreliable narrator" stories, I know how hard it is to make that work!

There has been a bit of a gen fanfic drought since the show ended (and I'm as guilty as anyone else!) so I was delighted to see this pop up on my f'list. :)

[greyias]

Awww, thanks! :) I've been hitting a wall lately on writing, and this was a good motivation to force myself back into the habit. I've had a yearning for a nice, light adventure story for a while now, so this is what came easiest... I'm not sure exactly what it says about me that "easy" in this case included the sentence "But John Sheppard is not pudding".

having written "unreliable narrator" stories, I know how hard it is to make that work!

I think I have an even greater respect for "Cold Comforts" now! (Greater because I was pretty much a-squee on it to begin with.) Rodney's disintegrating narrative was particularly tricky, but I'm glad it worked! (Although, one could argue Rodney isn't quite the most reliable narrator in normal circumstances.)

[valiree]

Great as usual. Encore mille merci pour ces merveilleuses fics !

[greyias]

Merci beaucoup pour le genre des mots. Je suis heureux que vous avez aimé l'histoire!

[valiree]

Wow, your french is very good ! Really, you are one of the few author I read again, and again, and again ... Please, tell me you've got another one somewhere, there's so few of good gen fic in SGA. I do love SLASH fiction but most of the time, those are more about porn (ahem) than plot (sigh ...) and I love plot more than pretty boys ... uh, ok, maybe not "more" but, well, I like to read sex written in a story and not sex "as" a story.

[greyias]

It's been a while since I took any French, so I didn't know if what I had said was correct! (Sometimes Google fails me as a backup check.)

And thank you again for the kind words! There has been a sad lack of gen lately, although hopefully that shall be rectified next week when sga_genficathon starts. You should definitely check it out, as there are some great stories that are going to be posted.

uh, ok, maybe not "more" but, well, I like to read sex written in a story and not sex "as" a story.

Well, I do admit I enjoy the occasional PWP, especially if it manages to reveal something of the characters at the same time... but I love it when there's more plot to the story too, as I think it enhances those scenes even more than when they're on their own.

[leesa_perrie]

I love Rodney's POV in this story, and the way he deteriorates slowly, and how wonderfully you describe that!!

"John frowns and says for Rodney to hang on. So he does.

And John says that he didn't mean it literally..."

*snort*

"Rodney takes this opportunity to confirm his "not tasty" hypothesis by licking the hand obstructing his breathing pathway... ...John is still covering his mouth, face twisting into some grotesque expression, as if he's being put through some awful kind of torture..."

LOL!! Ooh, poor John!!!

"Sheppard's not a dog, even if he does a good shaggy dog impression with that overgrown excuse for a haircut-and he has the sorriest hangdog expression Rodney has ever had the misfortune to witness time and time again... ...John lets out an undignified snort that borders on a snicker."

Brilliant!! And then this bit, back in the infirmary:

"...but he manages to open them enough just enough to see John's sock-clad toes twitching a few inches from his face..."LOL!!! Again!! Wonderful images! A great feeling of

[greyias]

Really glad you enjoyed the story! At first I wasn't sure if it'd be your thing, especially since it is, ah, special.

LOL!! Ooh, poor John!!!

I may have had... a little too much fun with the pudding paragraph XD But John should know better than to try and cover Rodney's mouth!

Off to rec this at stargategenrec!

Aww, thanks!

[wildcat88]

Hee! So much love for this I don't know where to start. The snark is beyond perfect. Rodney running off at the mouth and not realizing he's using his outside voice is sublime. And having feverish Rodney save John so John can save him... *flails*

[greyias]

*flails for your flails*

Rodney running off at the mouth and not realizing he's using his outside voice is sublime.

*snort* He really needs to get that brain-to-mouth filter looked at, doesn't he?