That's the thing - I see "successful" romance, the romances I get invested in, as leading to family. [...] But Rodney *has* a family, and I don't see him as lonely; I see his relationship with his team as being as fulfilling as any romantic connection would be. So the thought that his team ultimately means nothing to him, that he's going to reject that relationship with his team... ...I find that idea terribly depressing.
I'd find Rodney deciding his team means nothing to him depressing as well. But finding a romantic partner doesn't mean throwing your family by the way side. It's finding someone for yourself (and being someone special for someone else) and adding them to your family (as well as being brought into theirs). And it means finding someone who's going to stick by you no matter what direction your life takes (and who you'll stick by). Family will support, yes, but they won't come with (more than likely anyway; Jeannie didn't go to Atlantis, or Siberia for that matter).
The way John complicates things is that, in canon, I can see John putting Rodney at that level of importance in his life. But it's such a subtext thing, and I get the sense Rodney isn't fully aware of John's feelings, and I'm fairly sure canon will never out and out couple them... So if I shift John more towards a brother role, that's something Rodney finding a romantic partner would never change.
(Hee! As I'm writing this I'm watching "Moonstruck" which illustrates my view perfectly. Falling in love creates bigger and healthier families, it doesn't separate people from their families.)
Re: Comment got too long, oops! (edited)
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But Rodney *has* a family, and I don't see him as lonely; I see his relationship with his team as being as fulfilling as any romantic connection would be. So the thought that his team ultimately means nothing to him, that he's going to reject that relationship with his team... ...I find that idea terribly depressing.
I'd find Rodney deciding his team means nothing to him depressing as well. But finding a romantic partner doesn't mean throwing your family by the way side. It's finding someone for yourself (and being someone special for someone else) and adding them to your family (as well as being brought into theirs). And it means finding someone who's going to stick by you no matter what direction your life takes (and who you'll stick by). Family will support, yes, but they won't come with (more than likely anyway; Jeannie didn't go to Atlantis, or Siberia for that matter).
The way John complicates things is that, in canon, I can see John putting Rodney at that level of importance in his life. But it's such a subtext thing, and I get the sense Rodney isn't fully aware of John's feelings, and I'm fairly sure canon will never out and out couple them... So if I shift John more towards a brother role, that's something Rodney finding a romantic partner would never change.
(Hee! As I'm writing this I'm watching "Moonstruck" which illustrates my view perfectly. Falling in love creates bigger and healthier families, it doesn't separate people from their families.)