It reads pretty much gen to me - with the asides that I think crop up in all mixed gender friendships between singletons
Well, it still has more of a het or ship kind of feeling to me because of the overt UST and the kiss. But I know what you mean about the UST element in male-female friendships; I've had a few close male friends, and it always has to be dealt with at some point. Actually that just gave me a sudden idea for a scene I'd love to write -- in fact, should probably write, where one of the major het pairings (maybe Elizabeth and John/Rodney would be good candidates for this) have *THAT* conversation and decide that they'd be better as friends.
There was a really neat not-quite-slash story that I read awhile back where John realizes that he's gay, and tells Rodney and -- they stay platonic friends. I just thought that was about the coolest thing ever, because of its overt acknowledgement that sometimes, "just friends" can be all that a deep, satisfying relationship needs to be. And being sexually compatible does not mean that sex has to follow.
This is the first time I've tried writing a pairing that are not canonically a couple on the show, and I think that's why it ultimately shaded more into gen. I just -- have a great deal of trouble doing something so out-of-canon, at least not without a whole LOT of setup. I think that for me, in order to do a story that ended up with two of the characters paired off, it would have to be very long and spent a LOT of time taking them from where they are in canon to where they are at the end of the story. And of course, there are certainly characters where it's less of a big leap than for two who have never really interacted in canon at all. It's actually surprising to me how well this pairing *does* work, considering how incredibly unlikely it is on the show.
Thank you for the comments on the language; I'm glad that it worked, too. Some stories I want to take a more straightforward, prosaic approach, while others I like to get more lyrical with. This one called for a more delicate touch than the action-adventure sorts of things I've been writing lately.
I have to thank you for once again mentioning faith and this time exploring it a bit more. SGA mentions such thigns but never really delves into them. SG-1 did a little more (I'm thinking about season 9 when they sat in the briefing room adn actually discussed 'is there a God?'), but it's an uncomfortable topic for sci-fi in general, unless it consists of rituals and 'religion' rather than faith.
Yeah, and you know what's kind of funny about it is that I'm not a believer myself, and wasn't raised in a religious family. But for me, it's yet another interesting aspect of the characters (and their world) to explore, and ignoring it leaves a hole. I think you're totally right about sci-fi, and actually TV in general, shying away from overt discussions of religious belief, of faith -- which is unfortunate, since it's such a huge presence in so many people's lives, and there are so many story possibilities that are never explored. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised to see Rodney's religious beliefs directly addressed in "Tao", as well as a few quiet indications that Teyla still actively practices her own faith. Now if we could just get that for some of the other characters. Elizabeth and Carson in particular strike me as characters who would have deep religious convictions.
no subject
It reads pretty much gen to me - with the asides that I think crop up in all mixed gender friendships between singletons
Well, it still has more of a het or ship kind of feeling to me because of the overt UST and the kiss. But I know what you mean about the UST element in male-female friendships; I've had a few close male friends, and it always has to be dealt with at some point. Actually that just gave me a sudden idea for a scene I'd love to write -- in fact, should probably write, where one of the major het pairings (maybe Elizabeth and John/Rodney would be good candidates for this) have *THAT* conversation and decide that they'd be better as friends.
There was a really neat not-quite-slash story that I read awhile back where John realizes that he's gay, and tells Rodney and -- they stay platonic friends. I just thought that was about the coolest thing ever, because of its overt acknowledgement that sometimes, "just friends" can be all that a deep, satisfying relationship needs to be. And being sexually compatible does not mean that sex has to follow.
This is the first time I've tried writing a pairing that are not canonically a couple on the show, and I think that's why it ultimately shaded more into gen. I just -- have a great deal of trouble doing something so out-of-canon, at least not without a whole LOT of setup. I think that for me, in order to do a story that ended up with two of the characters paired off, it would have to be very long and spent a LOT of time taking them from where they are in canon to where they are at the end of the story. And of course, there are certainly characters where it's less of a big leap than for two who have never really interacted in canon at all. It's actually surprising to me how well this pairing *does* work, considering how incredibly unlikely it is on the show.
Thank you for the comments on the language; I'm glad that it worked, too. Some stories I want to take a more straightforward, prosaic approach, while others I like to get more lyrical with. This one called for a more delicate touch than the action-adventure sorts of things I've been writing lately.
I have to thank you for once again mentioning faith and this time exploring it a bit more. SGA mentions such thigns but never really delves into them. SG-1 did a little more (I'm thinking about season 9 when they sat in the briefing room adn actually discussed 'is there a God?'), but it's an uncomfortable topic for sci-fi in general, unless it consists of rituals and 'religion' rather than faith.
Yeah, and you know what's kind of funny about it is that I'm not a believer myself, and wasn't raised in a religious family. But for me, it's yet another interesting aspect of the characters (and their world) to explore, and ignoring it leaves a hole. I think you're totally right about sci-fi, and actually TV in general, shying away from overt discussions of religious belief, of faith -- which is unfortunate, since it's such a huge presence in so many people's lives, and there are so many story possibilities that are never explored. I was actually quite pleasantly surprised to see Rodney's religious beliefs directly addressed in "Tao", as well as a few quiet indications that Teyla still actively practices her own faith. Now if we could just get that for some of the other characters. Elizabeth and Carson in particular strike me as characters who would have deep religious convictions.