A Beautiful Lifetime Event by shallot

[zvi-likes-tv.livejournal.com]

A Beautiful Lifetime Event by astolat. Nearly 30,000 words of John, Rodney, and their kid. Eventually, they have sex.

The thing I appreciate about this story is that it does for me what the show has not done, which is put McShep in a situation that is fraught and only experienced directly by the two of them, so they are forced to uniquely rely on each other and, in the fullness (very, very full) become lovers because they mean more to each other than anyone else in the world. Also, since they are de facto married, most ladies won't want to sleep with them.

To my mind, John and Rodney on the show don't exhibit anything like the particular relationship that would lead to them becoming lovers. Half the time, I'm not entirely convinced they're friends. I'm sure they like each other, but is it any more than someone cool at the office?

In this story, because John and Rodney live together and have to relate to each other over the daughter they love to pieces, the story brings the heightened emotional life that allows them to eventually get with the getting on.

The thing I can't figure out though is whether or not I think it takes too long to get to that sexual place. Like, on the one hand, people don't switch sexual orientation on a whim that much. And the John and Rodney in this story are pretty clearly straight. Like, even after they have sex with each other, still basically straight, just monogamous with a person who happens to be male. On the other hand, hello, slash story presented in slash fandom, that hand has been dealt before.

No actual conclusion here, just thought I'd throw that out and see what people thought.

Comments

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

I think I was drawn deeply enough into the fairly narrow focus of the story that I didn't think much about the reactions of others. That makes me think about my expectations--in many slash stories set in any uni where being out would be a bad thing and the relationship has to be kept secret, attention from outsiders can signal trouble. Lots of stories don't deal with that, with the repercussions and reactions and political aspects of being gay (though some do, those that are primarily romances often don't and I read a lot of romances), so maybe that's what I've become used to, now, why I wasn't looking for it. Hmmm. Because, now that you've brought it up, I do see that there would have been something, some kind of reaction. Seeing how the rest of Atlantis was reacting to what was going on would have been interesting, yeah. Especially since the big clue-in followed someone's reaction--someone back on earth, after all that time spent together on Atlantis. I think it would have added something to the story to have seen that included, but I didn't enjoy the story any less for it not being there, and I don't think I would on re-read after thinking about it, either. And, really, the length of time to the reveal wouldn't have been sustainable if that had been included, unless the reaction happened very early, way before the friendship and sense of family deepened to the point where an "ah-ha" moment would have resulted--early enough that a "what, are you kidding?" reaction would have happened and it had been laughed off and forgotten. Something like that. More hmmmm.

[chaps1870.livejournal.com]

I had a thought on this and I wonder if because John and Rodney really didn't consider themselves in any kind of relationship that those around them didn't either. They didn't see themselves as gay and still showed interest in women whether they acted on it or not. In their minds they were just friends.

To those that know them and are around them, they appeared as heterosexual males in a 'bizarre' situation. One they were making the best of. Naturally their friendship would deepen as a result and any closeness they shared could be accounted for by the time they spent together. Yes, they lived together, but other than that they really didn't show any outward signs of there being any relationship. Only after they left Atlantis for Earth did they really pursue it and the story didn't go beyond that point so it didn't address the issue of what Atlantis personnel thought about it.

In my mind the story was about John and Rodney. While the reactions of others might have been interesting it really wasn't the focus of the story.

[carolyn-claire.livejournal.com]

I had a thought on this and I wonder if because John and Rodney really didn't consider themselves in any kind of relationship that those around them didn't either.

Well, yes, that too. I think I must have taken it for granted that everyone knew that this was an arrangement based solely on raising the child, that others wouldn't assume a romantic relationship, at first, or even wonder, much, any more than the guys did. They might joke, though, tease, or be snide (Kavanagh.) But we could see hints of their growing closeness over time, and that might cause people to start to wonder--if we could, maybe they could. Or maybe they'd be so used to the idea by then that it wouldn't ever occur to them to wonder. Elizabeth's or Radek's or Carson's reactions would be more relevant, plot-wise, than reactions from characters we/they don't know well, and might add another flavor, but I didn't need to see it to enjoy the story.