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

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

...thanks for telling me about the rec (was it private?)...

ariandne83 and I had been discussing the last scene in The Shrine, and in the course of that, she recced your fic. So.. semi-private? ;)

I wish Keller did come across as more confident [...] 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...

In my head, Jennifer is confident in her medical field. It's in other places that she'll become hesitant but... this is one of those places where I feel like canon is where I got this idea from, but it's hard for me to pinpoint exactly where and why. (I probably give a massive amount of weight to the emergency scene in the opening ep of s4.) So, I don't feel like I can change minds, if that makes sense. I'm just waiting for future canon to back me up. ;)

I definitely agree that Rodney is the superbrain. Just...I don't think I'd interpret Jennifer as having that much of a problem with it. She doesn't seem to define herself by her medical genius the same way Rodney defines himself by his own genius. She's much more socially adjusted, and seems to relish making friendships with people she feels she can learn from (Sam, Teyla). (Another reason I like her! *g*)

That all being said... I don't think you were unfair to Jennifer or suggested something out-of-character. This is a very possible, canonical, interpretation. (She was kicking herself for being charmed by the compromised version of Rodney, after all.) And, I totally recognize that I probably slant a bit too "she's wonderful!" in my own interpretation. Especially as I'm still in the honeymoon stage, here. :D

[xparrot.livejournal.com]

(Umm, I really don't mean to harsh on your Keller squee here, so please don't feel obliged to read this comment!)

Gero especially writes Keller as being confident and competent in medicine, and the times I like her best are when she's being a doctor. What bugs me about the writing of her is that they rarely focus 'her' episodes on that skill. "The Shrine" is the first Keller-centered episode in which her being a doctor was central to the plot/her role in the story. In "Missing" or "Quarantine" or "Trio," while she does do some medicine, it's not crucial to the story; with minor adjustments to the script she could be a scientist of anything.

This bothers me when compared to Beckett's storylines - he was central to fewer eps, but all the ones I can think of - "Poisoning the Well," "Conversion," "Michael," "Sunday" - Carson being a doctor/geneticist was key to the plot. The nature of SGA is such that the chars' job tends to be a primary aspect of their char - most Rodney stories focus on him being a scientist, most Sheppard stories hinge on his being military, etc - even Teyla's pregnancy storyline was entangled in her role as a warrior and leader of the Athosians - but with Keller, her position on Atlantis, the reason she's really there, is secondary to her personal life.

And this bothers me (and I admit I might be way oversensitive here, but) because I really don't think TPTB would do it to a male char - but when it's a cute girl, that's justification enough for her to be there.

[horridporrid.livejournal.com]

(Umm, I really don't mean to harsh on your Keller squee here, so please don't feel obliged to read this comment!)

Oh, don't worry about that. I like discussing, it's kind of how I squee. ;)

What bugs me about the writing of her is that they rarely focus 'her' episodes on that skill.
[...]
The nature of SGA is such that the chars' job tends to be a primary aspect of their char...
[...]
And this bothers me (and I admit I might be way oversensitive here, but) because I really don't think TPTB would do it to a male char - but when it's a cute girl, that's justification enough for her to be there.

Okay, this is fascinating. Because...yeah, I think you're right! I'd say Adrift had Jennifer firmly in her doctor role, but other than that... Yeesh, The Shrine is pretty much it, isn't it? Just looking at episodes she was central in, being a doctor got her in the room, but it wasn't key to the plot at all. And as you point out, any excuse could have gotten her into the various stories. There were a few episodes that got Carson into the adventure without needing him to be a doctor (The Tower, Irresponsible, both of which kind of sucked...I'm not sure if that means anything though *g*), but he wasn't central to the story. Not like Jennifer's non-doctor eps.

This gives me a lot to think about. I've suspected that the decision to bring Staite into the cast came around the time TPTB decided to dive more deeply into the characters of their ensemble. So I think it's not an accident that we've gotten to know her character on a more personal than professional level. And I can see why that would bug. Especially compared to the treatment of the other characters.

Heh. I'm trying to figure out if it bugs me, now that you've pointed it out. Or, if it doesn't bug me, why it doesn't bug me... Which means, this is a fairly inconclusive response! Sorry. :) ::wanders off to ponder::