SGA fic: Breaking Up in Three Easy Clichés (+ challenge)

[xparrot]

Firstly - McShep HappyFic Challenge! I've been waiting for something like this to pop up, since we all need it now. Since I not-so-secretly love unmitigated and absurdly happy endings even more than I love angst, I am all over this one (...whether or not I'll be able to write something for it is another matter, but we'll see...) It's very open-ended, so go! Sign up! Be happy!


Then, changing gears so fast that I apologize for the whiplash, a new fic:

This is...okay, I don't like the McKay/Keller pairing. My reasons range from my fairly levelheaded disinterest in seeing any romance in the show, to the increasingly emotional and irrational. But I don't want to take out that dislike on Keller, not when we have so little show left to enjoy; I don't especially like the char as she's been written anyway, but I'm trying. So really, this is less an actual fic and more me working to come to terms with the pairing, such as it is. Such as I see it, so I can move on and see Jennifer in her own right. Any McKeller OTPers will probably want to give this one a pass, for your own good.

(And next I will return you to your regularly scheduled Rodney/TEAM/McShep squee, before gnine has my head for straying!)

SGA: Breaking Up in Three Easy Clichés {~3,300 words}
PG, McKay/Keller, spoilers for "The Last Man" and "The Shrine"

Read it on AO3

Comments

[tiddletaddle.livejournal.com]

Hi. I've been lurking for a while, and I really love your fics. This one was brilliant (as usual) and really believable. I like Keller, but the idea of mckay and her in a relationship...no. I can't handle it, no matter how hard tptb push it. I also found it interesting in the ep. how rodney seemed to say everyones name but jennifers. You'd think, considering he's in 'love' with her, he'd have been calling for her?
Anyhow, I'll stop there, cause I can argue my mcshep view all night if I get going. :) just wanted to say that I love your work! and maybe ask if you're ever going to continue the dragon fics? Please?? *puppy eyes*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

So glad this fic worked for you - I don't know if this 'ship can never work, but at least how it's been written thus far, this is how I see it (And I don't especially want to see it working regardless - heh, if you want to argue McShep all night, you've come to the right place!)

And there will be more Pern-fic! Am working on a few things right now, but that's one of them...

[ariadne83]

Oh wow, it's like you climbed inside my brain - just Wednesday I was hoping someone would write a story like this :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee - I'm very glad I'm not the only one who sees it this way!

Perfect

[mezzo-cammin.livejournal.com]

You really. really, have the characters and their voices down so well...I love when that happens. And I loved this story, because most of us have had that conversation, one end or another of it, and it's never fun and it's always awkward, and you did such an excellent job portraying that. And I love the little ellipsis after Ronon's name, because sure, maybe that relationship could have a chance, now, eh? Jennifer has to be wondering what if...? Anyway - I friended you, hope that's okay. I really enjoy your work! :o)

Re: Perfect

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yes...some of the emotion here definitely is adapted from personal experience, if not the particular situations. Relationships are such tricky things. And heh, yes, there was definitely a little emphasis on Ronon...

And you're welcome to friend, I hope you keep enjoying the fic!

[droolfangrrl.livejournal.com]

Hah! I love it when fans "fix" episodes, fill in the missing places as it were.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Hee - this isn't quite a missing scene, maybe, but a "fix", yes!

[jujuberry136.livejournal.com]

I am with you 100% on the not liking Keller/McKay as a pairing (though I love them both individually). Using Keller's POV here was a great choice- it really gave us a chance to see what's going on in Keller's mind about her relationship with Rodney.

I really liked the story and the title was just plain awesome.

Thanks for sharing with us!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I don't like Keller as much as I wish I did, so getting into her head was something of an exercise in making me sympathize with her. Which I can, here, and this is how I see it now, though future eps might force me to change it...

Thank you (and glad you liked the title, it kinda came after the fact, when I realized how many classic break-up lines were actually in the story!)

This is not going to fit in one comment

[naye]

Since I promised you favorite lines and such... (Oh, this is probably going to kill LJ's comment character limit!)

The thing with clichés is that they're cliché for a reason. Because sometimes there's nothing else to say.

Because - yes. I mean. Yes. Even things you don't say - cliché situations are cliché because they really do happen like that. And I love how the title is a play on this! You do such good titles. I'm jealous. ♥

"Yes. Um. Could we...wait? Until after dinner? Or another week or two? A month? Forever?

Oh, RODNEY. This is what really broke my heart, because - um, yeah. When you've been there, and you have that moment of your heart plunging through your stomach and all the way down to your toes, you really would give anything to stop it falling. Even if you know it will; it has to, it's all given way... But you want it to stop, before it's too late - even after it already is.

mistaking a crush for something more, mistaking friendship for romance, mistaking loneliness for desire

Especially the last one of these - oh, yes. This is so... human. And I'm right there with Jennifer. It's such an easy mistake to make, such a pleasant mistake to make. I don't blame her for one minute, and I think she's doing an absolutely fabulous job of righting her mistake (and his, too - because like she says, it's not him, or her, it's both of them and John, of course).

It's a shame she's never been good at holding grudges, because she could get a spectacularly satisfying one out of this.

This made me giggle. Oh, yes. Another feeling I know so well. But I'm glad she doesn't hold a grudge against John. That'd be sad.

salutatorian

I'm being totally lazy and asking you to explain this instead of Googling it. Also, this way I can confess that I keep thinking that Jennifer is actually Canadian. XD (What? She sounds Canadian! When even the Swede can tell, it's got to be pretty obvious.)

He's awfully cute when he's vulnerable. That, at least, is too fundamentally true for her to feel guilty about it.

Eeee, yes! Oh, Rodney. ♥

"You weren't interested in me until John told you we hooked up in an alternate timeline,"

And I'm with Jennifer on her reaction to this line. It's kind of hysterical and twisty and weird and oh, Pegasus. Life in a different galaxy is so interesting. Plus, I am so very on board with the idea that John told Rodney, and that's why he started crushing on Jennifer...

Ronon Dex!

I love the way you transcribed it to sound exactly like Rodney was saying it! Aww. Ronon Dex! :D

Told you so!

[naye]

she can see herself, desperate to save someone after losing everything.

Fabulous take on TLM, as always. And this part really moved me, for Jennifer, who is almost more bothered by the hypothetical loss of Rodney's team, of Atlantis, of Pegasus, than she is of her own hypothetical death by alien respiratory disease.

Right now, she's happy with her job, happy with her place on Atlantis. She wants friends to grab a beer with, to watch the stars with, a shoulder to cry on when she needs it; she's not looking for someone to come home to. She doesn't want the noise of obligatory conversation filling up the peace of her quarters every evening, doesn't feel like arguing about the room temperature every night. She can still put off thinking about kids for another few years, and plans to. She likes what she has now.

Yes, hi. Have a paragraph! A paragraph of oh, I recognize this...! I'll just substitute a couple of words for ones more right for me - "tea" for "beer", and "Japan" for "Atlantis" - and then I can post this paragraph and explain exactly where I'm at right now. It really does feel like you've been in my head. ♥ (In a non-creepy kind of way, of course.) It also feels like we somehow have a lot in common. Hmm. Who'd have thought! XD

And she hasn't seen Teyla in a couple days and is missing her Torren time

Awww! Torren time! So sweet.

"Okay," Jennifer repeats, after the doors close behind him, and she's only a little surprised to discover that it really is.

*mad flailing*

SO PERFECT! Love this one to BITS, it's a wonderful fic, because it's so real and true to the characters, and to this situation, and just... everything. It's a happy break up fic. You really are a genius, to be able to write something like a happy break up fic. *hugs*

[facetofcathy.livejournal.com]

Now if TPTB want to write Jennifer/Rodney like this, well I'm in. Yes, I can see them dating, yes I can see her liking Rodney at first and yes I can see him liking her (not a spontaneous declaration of love, I mean really).

But..... It cannot last.

The story though, I love the way you twist those three cliches. I love the way she's got some anger that she doesn't quite know where to put. I love the way she's genuinely resentful of Rodney usurping her biggest brain in the room status and genuinely contrite for feeling it.

Great story, and I say that not just because I agree with your premis.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

I didn't mind the spontaneous declaration of love - but only because I saw like this, as Rodney confused and wanting to love someone, and Keller is there, and he was hoping, so he said it. I don't think it means that much, really (oddly, the way it played in the episode itself, I wasn't sure if we were meant to think it a grand declaration, or if we were actually supposed to question its truth. Considering he didn't even seem to remember Keller's name later...)

...but then I sort of liked Katie Brown/Rodney, too, only because I was sure it was destined to fail. I have this weird thing for the relationships that fail not out of any sort of malice or mistake, but simply because two people can't always make it work, even when they want to.

And heck, I love Rodney McKay, but he wouldn't be an easy guy to date. I'd have problems with being jealous of his genius myself...!

[water-soter.livejournal.com]

Veeeerrrrryyyyyyy interesting. I love your take on the situations that brought them together. Like I said, very interesting.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad it worked for you!

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

I... yeah, I liked this. :) I'm highly impressed with how well, how sympathetically you wrote Jennifer, especially as she's not your favorite character. And I really like your take on her relationship with Rodney, as one of those, looks better on paper than in reality things. Which is one way I think it could turn out. (Honestly, I feel like that was what was going through Jennifer's mind when she watched that tape in the last scene of The Shrine. Does she want to go there? Is this a relationship she actually has an interest in and wants to pursue?)

In my personal take on Jennifer (and I say "my" because I'm not full on confident saying my view jells definitively with canon -- I mean, I hope it does, because I like my Jennifer *g*, but...) she's a lot more confident in her own intelligence. But, other than that, I liked how you wrote her. You caught her warmth and her courage, so in the end, I liked this. :)

FYI, I was recced this by ariadne83.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yes, I was interpreting the end of "The Shrine" that way myself - or at least thought it could be interpreted that way, I was wondering what the writer/director actually intended. It did seem to me like Jennifer was considering Rodney's declaration with a good deal of thought, more than just enjoying it. (Quite frankly? If a guy who I was friends with, who I'd gone on maybe one and a half dates with, started losing his mind and then said he loved me - that would freak me out, more than make me swoon. One reason (among many) that I'm glad Rodney went to John's quarters, and was crying out for John, is that I think for him to call out to Jennifer would've been one hell of an imposition on a nascent relationship...)

I wish Keller did come across as more confident - I know that some people enjoy her more hesitant aspects, but the only times I've really liked her character is when she is sure of herself. It just hasn't happened as much as I'd like (it's why I prefer Gero's Keller.) That being said, I didn't mean for the bit about IQs to be a slight on her - I do think Rodney is smarter than her, but Rodney is smarter than almost anyone, and I think that would be a problem with any relationship he'd have with another genius intellect (except Sam!) - because most geniuses are used to being special, and Rodney's very competitive, and not very sympathetic about it. Jennifer's not in the same field, but I still think it might be difficult for her...I know I'd have problems with it myself!

(and ee, thanks for telling me about the rec (was it private?) - that always excites me! and thanks, too for giving the story a chance - I'm getting such thoughtful reaction to this, it's wonderful!)

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Rodney/Jennifer isn't my OTP (I like him with John or with Sam at least as much) but the pairing definitely appeals to me. Still I like this fic a lot. While I like the thougth of them together, their relationship and breakup here feel really plausible. If they manage writing something like this on the show itself, I'll be happy.

Hm, I realized I'm happy to read believabe interaction of any kind between the two; doesn't have to end in romance or happily ever after.

I like how sympathetic you wrote her, especially in light of the fact that you don't like the ship all that much (which you can't tell from the story.) I wouldn't have clicked on the link had this been a random author at fanfic net, but I trust you. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you enjoyed the story - and that you read it despite concerns because it was mine, thank you, that's an enormous compliment!

After the maturity of the Rodney/Katie break-up, I might almost hope for Rodney/Jennifer to go similarly, but...well, we'll see! Really, the thing that annoys me most is that they aren't developing the friendship between them first - they had a bit of interaction together in "Adrift" and "Doppelganger", but after that was "Trio" and it's been vaguely romantic/flirty ever since. Which, well, bores me...(I'm not a big fan of canon pairings, period; to be honest I don't think I really grabbed onto Rodney/Sam until it became clear that it was never, ever going to happen in canon. After which I started wanting it. Um, yes. ^^;)

[dragojustine.livejournal.com]

I'm actually startled by how much I liked this. There's such a really bad trend in fandom of ship-trashing fic that just exists to make one side look bad, and this... ISN'T that. It's an incredibly insightful look at both of them, and their motivations, and what would actually draw them together and why those things aren't enough. They're both so sympathetic and sincere and genuine, and there's no fault to be placed, and Keller is being so very very wise.

*loves*

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Aww, but it's not nearly as satisfying to break a ship by going OOC...and I'm fascinated by relationships that fail without villains, because in my experience there usually aren't any - misunderstandings and transgressions, but it's rare for only one partner to be solely guilty.

Besides, it's not an end to their relationship; I do think they'd make good friends, maybe better than as a couple...

--er, yes, my thoughts on pairings, let me show them to you! Thank you for reading, so glad it worked for you!

[greyias.livejournal.com]

OMG yes! Thank you for this! You managed to put into words what really bugged me about that last bit in "The Shrine" and the inevitable relationship that's going to result from it. It's all so... more than plausible, it just clicks, makes so much sense.

Am I allowed to take all of naye's snipped bits and say "Yeah, that"? Because, really, that. (Torren time! Squee!) Okay, I won't snurch, but everything she said, as well as:

Rodney had been blunted, his sharp mind and his sharp tongue alike. -- because that's really how I felt about that scene, he's Rodney, but he's not Rodney. And I love the thought that Keller would realize this (maybe in hindsight, but still realize it nonetheless.)

-- John's smart, she thinks. Too damn smart, and he takes care of his team too well. -- Because it's so true, and says so much about Keller's view on John (part compliment, part consternation, and a teensy bit of jealousy?)

I'm not radically opposed to McKay/Keller, but I would really prefer it to not happen for a lot of the same reasons. But is it horrible that the thought of McKay and Keller having sex gives me the heebie jeebies? However, if it has to happen canonically, I'd love for it to be like this, where the friendship is something that stands out more than OTPness.

And "Torren time" is still making me grin like a loon. Everyone on Atlantis wants to play with the baby! :D

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad it worked for you (and I'm glad to know others also see it this way, helps assure me I'm not crazy!)

One of my biggest problems with the McKay/Keller is that they haven't developed their friendship - other than the awkward flirting and now confessions of love, I don't really get what they see in each other, what they're going to do with each other. Maybe they have things in common, but we haven't seen much of that, haven't really seen them talking or anything, other than when stuck together in "Trio" (and they apparently only had one beer after.) With Rodney and John, we know they hang out together all the time, but it hasn't really implied Rodney and Keller have spent much time together. But neither did it imply that they were extremely attracted to one another from the beginning, so where is this relationship come from?

Torren, yeah - there's but one baby on Atlantis, I'm sure that nearly everyone wants a turn with him!

[propinquitine.livejournal.com]

Oh, thanks for this. I almost didn't read it, since I pretty vehemently dislike the McKay/Keller pairing, but between the title and the author, I decided to give it a shot, and boy am I glad I did! I think you articulate all of the (exceedingly rational) reasons why this pairing grates, and I really liked how you wove in so many standard break-up lines, but used them to develop the characterizations and achieve a pretty non-standard break-up.

I like your Keller, and that's a nice change of pace from recently on the show. Even though the line about her not minding it if his genius faded made me gasp in horror, I still felt sympathy for her, and found myself rooting for both of them to find some kind of happy (separate) ending. (And I loved that part of her calculus for whether to go to dinner was that she'd been missing her "Torren time". &hearts ) In short: this was great, and helped me get a better handle on how to regain some of my Keller love! Thanks!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you liked it - I really dislike the McKeller pairing myself, so I entirely understand your reluctance to read it, thanks for giving it a shot anyway! It's good to know I'm not alone in thinking like this about them (...aside from really not wanting to see romance in the show, and also of course my OTP leanings, I just don't think Keller & McKay are very good for each other, at least from what we've seen of them so far...)

And glad, too, that I could help redeem Keller - I want to like the char, and I mostly don't, and that annoys me, so this was therapy for that as much as anything else.

[calcitrix.livejournal.com]

Fantastic. You made me realize what's been off about Keller for me this whole time. I know she must be smart...really really smart for her to be the head of medicine in Atlantis...but that never really comes through on the show. Carson developed the ATA therapy, the virus that changes the Wraith, figured out how to save Bug!John... Keller? Didn't save Weir, hasn't cured the Hoffan disease, didn't quite heal Carson, and couldn't save Rodney. They've just written her as competent, not brilliant. Your take on her--liking Rodney more when he wasn't as smart, yeah. That. Made me go, "Oh!" and realize all of the above.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yes, that's one of my major problems with Keller, that she's never really come across as skilled enough to ever have gotten the position of Atlantis's head of medicine. I can't figure out what she's doing there. I know some people like that she's not a superhero, is more a regular person - but no one else on Atlantis is regular, so how did she make it there? It annoys me because it seems like rather than justifying her position on the show by showing her skills, the writers seem to think that her being cute and ship-worthy is enough for the char. And that's just insulting.

[trishkafibble.livejournal.com]

Wonderfully well done. Absolutely spot-on in every way, to the point where I can feel this scene taking up residence in my personal fanon and making itself entirely at home there! I especially liked the presentation, with lots of waffling bits (i.e., it's not like that, except that it is), because that's exactly how it is in a situation like this!). Thanks so much.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad it worked for you! I admit, I'm rather hoping later eps won't joss this (say, if we ever find out that John didn't tell Rodney about him hooking up with Keller in the Last Man future) because right now, thinking of it this way has made me reasonably sanguine about the pairing.

[raiining.livejournal.com]

Oh! Yes!

I really really love this because it articulates everything I see in this pairing, and everything the Shrine showed us about it, too.

He DID say he loved her on day 6, but after that she was only his doctor, and then he forgot her completely, when he remembered everything else. And it seems like he WOULD be stretching for a future that did happen, could happen, but isn't - thankfully - because their neither of them alone yet.

And I love how you wrote this because it was KIND and nice and lovely, but utimiately truthful. I can see this as canon, because it fit so perfectly well with our characters.

And maybe the show will go further with it, but in my mind this is what makes the most sense.


Lovely - absolutely lovely. :)

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm frankly really glad to know other people see them this way...makes me feel a bit less tin-hattish about the whole thing. (To be honest, one reason I'm almost relieved the show is ending is that this pairing hopefully won't have time to develop into something big. I have no interest in watching SGA: The Love Story...with anyone, really. Even a slash pairing would probably end up annoying me...romance is just not why I watch the show.)

I also am hoping we never find out if John told Rodney about "The Last Man" future (or that we find he definitely did tell him) because this is the only way I really can make sense of "The Shrine" - I can too easily see Rodney convincing himself he does love someone after being told he had a relationship with them in an alt history. He doesn't want to be alone (he's not alone! but I don't think even now that Rodney fully understands just how much the team is there for him...)

[runpunkrun]

This is just the sort of fic I needed to read. My crazy irrational side has been drowning out the side that's trying to be sane about this whole McKay/Keller thing. (I'm not a fan of it, obviously.)

I liked seeing Rodney through Keller's eyes, watching her note the differences in Rodney's behavior, realizing all the things about him that she's missed since they started dating, like his smile.

And if this ain't the truth: He's awfully cute when he's vulnerable. That, at least, is too fundamentally true for her to feel guilty about it.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you, I'm glad to know I'm not alone! Yes, I've been trying to be cool about it myself, but...it's hard! I'm a compulsive OTPer and I can't turn it off as much as I'd like to; and then, I just don't think they're very good for each other...

But at the same time, I can't really blame Keller for falling for him, I mean, it is Rodney, after all...!

[velocitygrass.livejournal.com]

Yes, I can really see this happening. And I'm glad that Jennifer got that it's not working and told Rodney and asked the right questions.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've been in Jennifer's place before...it's not easy, but it's the right thing to do, when it's really not working.

sgafic: breaking up in three easy cliches

[fish-echo.livejournal.com]

Lovely little story reflecting on a relationship that wasn't working. I like that you managed to be nice to both characters-- you didn't slam either of them. Keller's too timid of a character for me to feel that she would match well with Rodney-- he needs someone who would push back at him.

(I wandered over here after clicking on your name in the sga_flashfic, so don't mind me, I'm just surfing the internet)

Re: sgafic: breaking up in three easy cliches

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I have issues with Keller other than the pairing stuff, but the biggest problem I have with the pairing itself is that they're just not suited for one another. I don't see Keller as being any better for Rodney than Katie Brown was, and I don't think Rodney would be very good for Keller's low self-confidence...

(And I never mind comments, surf as much as you want! ^^)

[beth-green.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, YES! This is how it should be. Rodney trying to make things work because if John said it, it must be true. And Jennifer, initially thinking that it was okay to settle for Mr. Right Here, Right Now instead of waiting and hoping Mr. Right would come along. Sooner or later, they both would have realized the error of their ways.

Actually, no, I take that back. Poor Rodney, clueless when it comes to relationships (Remember Katie?), needed Jennifer to be the one to point out the truth regarding their relationship. Because this was you writing, I decided to read McKay/Keller (not a pairing I favor despite TPTB), with the hope that it would lead to McShep. I couldn't have asked for a better break up. Thank you.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Thank you - I'm glad you took a chance & read it even not liking the pairing (I don't like the pairing either - John/Rodney OTP 'til the end of time, baby! - but since TPTB seem determined to get McKeller in there somewhere, I needed to explain it...explain it away...!) And yeah, Rodney doesn't have enough relationship know-how to separate his desire for companionship from actual love...I'm hoping Jennifer might be more perceptive, or else they both might get hurt.

[gaffsie.livejournal.com]

I've been putting off reading this ever since it was first posted, because despite the very promising title and author notes I just didn't think that I'd be ready to acknowledge Rodney and Keller as a couple (even as a failed one). After seeing those damn spoiler pictures for the finale and angsting over them for a while, I was finally ready though. ;)

Thanks for writing this. I can't really see a future together for these two characters, and you've verbalized *why* perfectly.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Heh...I am a McShep OTPer, is the thing, and I don't betray my OTPs, not without a lot of guilt. And I really don't like McKeller *joins you in spoiler picture angst* So I'm glad this worked for you
(I don't care how much the show tries to sell it, never gonna happen. Not with my chars! XP)

[delphia2000.livejournal.com]

I love this and I am your dedicated fangurl forever! (Not that I wasn't already!) I'm here via astrivd's stargateficrec post and I'm so happy to start the day this way. Yes, I'm a McShep OTP and a noromo in canon (because the writers on that show just can't manage to write a believable romance for me!) but that's not why I love this. I love it because it resonates so true for both characters. I do like Keller, just not with Rodney and for all the reasons you have here. I wish I could march into the writers' bullpen at the Bridge and make them read this because it has all the right reasons why those two just don't work together.

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I'm not that into romance anyway, but I'm especially not into badly written romance, and since they decided to make Keller romantically involved I don't feel they've written her as well as they were before. Frustrating! And I don't think they'd work together...from what we've seen thus far, I don't think Rodney would be any better for Jennifer than she would be for Rodney (much as I love Rodney, I don't think he'd be an easy person to be in a relationship with. Neither would John, of course - they deserve each other! XP)

[brasslizard.livejournal.com]

I realized during Quarantine that the only kind of relationship that could EVER work out for Rodney is with someone who is assertive. Someone who won't let him lie down. But at the same time, they'll let Rodney be himself in his full snarky genius splendor.

Katie was downright BAD for Rodney. I never saw Rodney be himself around her and she enabled some of his more regrettable tendencies.

Sam on the other hand would be exactly the opposite extreme. She'd push and he'd push and everything in that relationship would be big and large - the passion and the fights. All too hot to last for long.

Keller. I haven't been able to get a good read on her character, yet. I can't decide if she's good at her job or not. I can't decide if she's timid or stead-fast. So it's hard for me to view her in a relationship when I can't even view her. Especially when that relationship is with Rodney.

I really, really want to like Keller. But I haven't been given a reason to, yet. So. Right now? I'm inclined to agree with your interpretation of things. I just can't see Keller and Rodney going long term. She's not the balance that he needs. At least, not yet.

Thank you!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

Yeah...I wanted to like Keller at first, but I never got a reason. And now I'm just so resentful of her taking away screentime from the team that I'm not really giving her a chance; I don't want to watch her anymore, I want to watch the team! So I'm not terribly happy with the idea of her and Rodney hooking up. But what we've seen of her so far, and the way Rodney behaves around her, seems an awful lot like Katie Brown again.

The thing with Katie Brown, too, is that not only was she bad for Rodney, but I think Rodney was bad for her...I love Rodney, but he wouldn't be the easiest person to be in a relationship with. What we've seen of Keller, she often needs encouragement, and Rodney's not exactly great at encouragement...

...er, yes, my thoughts on McKeller, let me show them to you! Glad you liked the story ^^

[michelel72.livejournal.com]

This is so very nicely done. Both characters feel true, and honest, and sympathetic. Thanks for this. (Especially since I'm first reading it after watching "Brain Storm". Gah!)

And this broke my heart: [...]Because—I can try, I will, whatever you want [...] Oh, my poor Rodney. I entirely believe that he might react this way, and this very instinct is what should tell him it's all so wrong.

Anyway: love it, thank you!

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

So glad this worked for you! (and glad, too, that it works after "Brain Storm" - means I don't have to revisit their story; for me, this is how it goes...)

And Rodney, yes, he's so sure he can't be loved that he's willing to do almost anything to be a person that might be lovable, completely missing that there are those who love him as he is...

[chocolatecoffee.livejournal.com]

Loved it.