Pure Bodies and Clean Hearts by Speranza (Virgin Challenge)

[cesperanza]

Title: Pure Bodies and Clean Hearts (26k)
Author: Speranza
Pairing: McShep
Summary: John gets a do-over.

Thanks to shalott, giddy, and res for beta beyond the call of duty.

Comments

[kimberlite]

He was careening through the water at top speeds, and he tried to be really alive to it, because this might be his last wild ride, and there were worse ways to die. He'd always wanted to go out flying--doing barrel rolls at enough Gs that he'd black out before he crashed-- but this was pretty damn close.

Wow -- that was quite a ride. Loved how John thought about vertical bearings and other pilot stuff. Very cool how alive he felt in the water and then how new and sensitized afterward. Poor Rodney, attracting the wrong type of attention, but yay for happy (and hot and funny) endings. :)

[cesperanza]

Loved how John thought about vertical bearings and other pilot stuff.--ooh, thank you for catching that. It makes me really happy: I wondered if anyone would! And you know, even surging to certain death, John Sheppard is a guy who could enjoy the speed of a good ride. *G*

Rodney--yeah, it occurred to me that Rodney probably would have a zillion pederast science profs wanting to touch his brilliant little body, and would have to stave them off somehow. I could see him becoming deliberately offputting, deliberately defensive to protect himself--and then looking up later and realizing that he'd missed certain other kinds of chances. It can happen really, really easily, I think.

[rae_fa]

Oh that was really good! From John drowning/being born again, to not being able stay a virgin for very long...to the sex (which was very hot!)

Fantastic!

[cesperanza]

Yeah, I realized afterwards that John really did have that virginity burning a hole in his pocket. *g* Ten hours!

[panisdead]

Awwww. I was almost sorry to see the Virgin Warrior Guild despoiled; that would have made great comic book. Teyla and Ronon will have to recruit. :)

[cesperanza]

Yeah; it is sort of a shame. John Sheppard really is a terrible virgin, though--ten hours! *g* Clearly, not a man destined for long-term virginity. *G*

[kylielee1000]

I think this is the summary, really: God, yes, the years had passed while Rodney had been working; the stream of time had dragged Rodney down and battered him against its own sort of rocks, and now it had brought him to John, gasping for breath and brand new.

This bit ties in the water and the renewal, which are great themes here. I liked that the renewal was hard, because it should be.

[cesperanza]

Yes, totally, though the problem with summaries--and ratings and warnings and pairings and disclaimers, oh, how I hate them all!--is that it gives too much away; I mean, you want to read the line in context, I think, and not give your hand away before the story starts about who's a virgin and where and why (in fact, in that way, John's almost a red herring; midway through the story, you think, oh, he's the virgin, and I hope there was some readerly surprise when it was revealed that, no, the others all are too.

And yeah, totally, renewal should be hard! These villagers know how to throw a ritual cleansing, by God! *G*

[kylielee1000]

Oh, no, sorry, unclear--I don't think you should rewrite your summary in any way. I was just saying that, if I had to pick a single line from the story that best expresses it, that would be the line I would choose.

There was indeed readerly surprise at everyone being a virgin, and I liked that bit! I was very taken with Teyla's assertion that chastity made someone a better warrior. All that pent-up sexual tension, I guess.

[cesperanza]

Yeah, I didn't make that up--and it still holds true in sports, no? No sex before the big game, etc?

[sp23]

"Meanwhile, you were a virgin for, like, three hours," Rodney said.

Hee! Yeah, that virginity thing just couldn't stick on John. *g* Really enjoyed this.

[cesperanza]

Yeah, it just totally burned a hole in his pocket, didn't it? *g* He's so not cut out for chastity!