![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
SGA vignette: "Precession"
Bless me, fandom, for I have sinned. It has been not long enough too long since my last confession.
Vignette (which be French for "not actually a story"), wicked short, contains no dialogue, no plot, and especially no porn, and was essentially just a writing exercise for practicing McKay voice.
Introspection. With planetary motion metaphors. *embarrassed chuckle*
I post it anyway, in the hopes of possibly briefly amusing some of y'all what's likewise having a rough time of late.
Strangely enough (to me), I did the rough stream-of-consciousness draft before "Trinity" aired. No spoilers for that here, but I was briefly happy and validated under the omg Rodney angst of the episode. *g*
Precession
It's a fact of Rodney's life--not a sad fact, please, just a fact; not everything needs to be reduced to some sort of Greek tragedy--that he's learned how to relish things quickly. If he dawdles over a piece of pie or a cup of coffee, he might miss out on getting seconds, and Rodney's an absolute fiend for seconds.
Sheppard, on the other hand, seems to dawdle over everything. Rodney would suspect that the man didn't have a setting higher than "slow," if he hadn't seen him under fire, literally and figuratively, as often as he had (which was really far too often, but currently beside the point).
Rodney hardly understands him; the thought of missing out on something of interest is complete anathema to him. But Sheppard idles over things like he's learned a secret about them, and he seems to be unwilling to share that secret, but possibly he'd be happy to sit with you while you learned it yourself.
There's been an unspeakably frustrating amount of idling happening recently.
Rodney is in no way opposed to depth of knowledge, mind you; one doesn't become the foremost expert on a single subject, let alone the myriad of subjects with which Rodney is conversant, without some serious dedication and investment of time. But lately, he just hasn't been able to tell exactly what Sheppard is ruminating about; Rodney just looks up, and catches Sheppard watching him with a knowing smirk, and feels like he's missing the joke.
He'd hate that feeling even more than he already does if so many of the jokes didn't turn out to be puerile and uninspired. But Sheppard's particular reverie gives him pause.
Rodney wants to rail at him that they have to keep going, push the boundaries, reset the limits of their knowledge. He needs to keep moving, and Sheppard, without saying anything at all, damn him, anything that Rodney could refute with implacable logic, seems to exhort him to slow down, to savor the moment, to just be unnervingly still for a little while.
Rodney wants to be able to say that he ignores that pointless, tacit, arguably dangerous and irresponsible advice, and just keeps right on pressing onward. But though Sheppard seems to be standing still, Rodney never seems to get all that far away from him, relatively speaking. In a disturbing moment of sentimental metaphoric projection, it occurs to Rodney that one of them might well be orbiting the other.
"Disturbing," that is, because Rodney suspects that he may be the moving body captured and brought to heel by Sheppard's gravity. And the worst part, the absolute worst part of it is that while Rodney's well aware that certain of his colleagues would theatrically feign dying of shock at the thought that Rodney didn't consider himself to be the center of every possible universe, metaphorical or not...
Rodney isn't convinced that he minds this ordering of his personal cosmos.
Because sometimes--though it's completely insane for Rodney to even consider this--Sheppard seems to be dawdling because he's waiting for Rodney to catch up.
And sometimes--though it's even less likely, dependent upon Rodney's uncertain reading of a tilt of the head, or the ghost of a smile--he thinks that Sheppard might almost be waiting for Rodney to lead the way.
***
Apropos of nothing, I would like to thank ThinkGeek.com for enlivening my afternoon, with their ever-enthralling collection of items both "omg, that's just too funny--I kinda want it" and "omg, that's just so geeky--I really, really, REALLY want it. Really."
Vignette (which be French for "not actually a story"), wicked short, contains no dialogue, no plot, and especially no porn, and was essentially just a writing exercise for practicing McKay voice.
Introspection. With planetary motion metaphors. *embarrassed chuckle*
I post it anyway, in the hopes of possibly briefly amusing some of y'all what's likewise having a rough time of late.
Strangely enough (to me), I did the rough stream-of-consciousness draft before "Trinity" aired. No spoilers for that here, but I was briefly happy and validated under the omg Rodney angst of the episode. *g*
Precession
It's a fact of Rodney's life--not a sad fact, please, just a fact; not everything needs to be reduced to some sort of Greek tragedy--that he's learned how to relish things quickly. If he dawdles over a piece of pie or a cup of coffee, he might miss out on getting seconds, and Rodney's an absolute fiend for seconds.
Sheppard, on the other hand, seems to dawdle over everything. Rodney would suspect that the man didn't have a setting higher than "slow," if he hadn't seen him under fire, literally and figuratively, as often as he had (which was really far too often, but currently beside the point).
Rodney hardly understands him; the thought of missing out on something of interest is complete anathema to him. But Sheppard idles over things like he's learned a secret about them, and he seems to be unwilling to share that secret, but possibly he'd be happy to sit with you while you learned it yourself.
There's been an unspeakably frustrating amount of idling happening recently.
Rodney is in no way opposed to depth of knowledge, mind you; one doesn't become the foremost expert on a single subject, let alone the myriad of subjects with which Rodney is conversant, without some serious dedication and investment of time. But lately, he just hasn't been able to tell exactly what Sheppard is ruminating about; Rodney just looks up, and catches Sheppard watching him with a knowing smirk, and feels like he's missing the joke.
He'd hate that feeling even more than he already does if so many of the jokes didn't turn out to be puerile and uninspired. But Sheppard's particular reverie gives him pause.
Rodney wants to rail at him that they have to keep going, push the boundaries, reset the limits of their knowledge. He needs to keep moving, and Sheppard, without saying anything at all, damn him, anything that Rodney could refute with implacable logic, seems to exhort him to slow down, to savor the moment, to just be unnervingly still for a little while.
Rodney wants to be able to say that he ignores that pointless, tacit, arguably dangerous and irresponsible advice, and just keeps right on pressing onward. But though Sheppard seems to be standing still, Rodney never seems to get all that far away from him, relatively speaking. In a disturbing moment of sentimental metaphoric projection, it occurs to Rodney that one of them might well be orbiting the other.
"Disturbing," that is, because Rodney suspects that he may be the moving body captured and brought to heel by Sheppard's gravity. And the worst part, the absolute worst part of it is that while Rodney's well aware that certain of his colleagues would theatrically feign dying of shock at the thought that Rodney didn't consider himself to be the center of every possible universe, metaphorical or not...
Rodney isn't convinced that he minds this ordering of his personal cosmos.
Because sometimes--though it's completely insane for Rodney to even consider this--Sheppard seems to be dawdling because he's waiting for Rodney to catch up.
And sometimes--though it's even less likely, dependent upon Rodney's uncertain reading of a tilt of the head, or the ghost of a smile--he thinks that Sheppard might almost be waiting for Rodney to lead the way.
***
Apropos of nothing, I would like to thank ThinkGeek.com for enlivening my afternoon, with their ever-enthralling collection of items both "omg, that's just too funny--I kinda want it" and "omg, that's just so geeky--I really, really, REALLY want it. Really."
no subject
Not only because it works but because it puts me into mind of a very nice song I love called "Gravity." Which would actually fit this vignette, sorta. /off topic
The Rodney voice is very good, too; you did a good job with that and I continue to like your stuff enough to get over my deep-rooted dislike of things written in present tense. XD
(no subject)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
So how have you sinned lately? *listens attentively*
Go forth and sin again.
(This lovely little vingnette really did make the evening better, darling.)
(no subject)
(no subject)
no subject
And yes, you should definitely sin with greater frequency (hey, as long as we're going with physics terms here :> )
no subject
Great job!
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
the way you've layered rodney's thoughts and feelings here is lovely. the inevitable collision of stillness and movement will be quite something. *bg*
ps. and hee! thank you for the link.....the tiki drive just cracks me up completely. and if i end up humming "the tikki room" today i'm going to be a bit worried. meep.
no subject
no subject
You have a very distinctive "voice" about your work.
WP
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Yes, yes, yes, YES! You've hit it. Lovely.
no subject
Because sometimes--though it's completely insane for Rodney to even consider this--Sheppard seems to be dawdling because he's waiting for Rodney to catch up.
I'm feeling so much squee for this :D Not to mention it's PERFECT Rodney! Awesome!
no subject
no subject
You need to practice on perfection? ;)
*goes off humming "Nobody Does It Better"*
no subject
no subject
I love your not-really-a-story, and I think you should write lots more! It perfectly captures the two of them and the way they are just drawn to each other. The introspection really seems to suit Rodney, and it fits in so well with what happens in Trinity. :)
no subject
no subject
And omg, the sunglasses. I wouldn't buy them for myself, but as a gift that would totally rock. ::counts days til birthday:: John would SO have some.
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
Thanks muchly for sharing.
^_^
no subject
What a lovely reading of Sheppard. I like this insight into him.
no subject
no subject
*sob* I work with people who think 'finagle' is spelled 'finangle', and who think that a 'tong' is a type of shoe or skimpy underwear, and that you pronounce the 's' on the end of 'Illinois'.
So thanks, and hey! The story is lovely, too.
(no subject)
no subject
no subject
no subject
no subject
This was my favorite line, "And sometimes--though it's even less likely, dependent upon Rodney's uncertain reading of a tilt of the head, or the ghost of a smile--he thinks that Sheppard might almost be waiting for Rodney to lead the way."
I can completely see that happening. I can also see John smiling when Rodney finally gets it.