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sga_flashfic-title- Guises in Four Seasons: Autumn
-author- Sophonisba (![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
saphanibaal)
-warnings- Gen and suitable for general audiences. Takes place in the asymptotic-to-canon AU I've written in a few times before.
-spoilers- Missing scene for "Duet"
-characters- John, Ronon
-disclaimer- I own no part of Stargate: Atlantis. Somehow or another a fair bit of Manly Wade Wellman crept into this story here and there; I'm not him, either, although I could probably e.mail copies of the pass-it-on version Baen Books made of his "John" short stories to anyone who wants one. The second song mentioned is by Bob Dylan. In one line, Sheppard's thinking of Wilde, although I can't remember whether the quotation's correct or not.
-word count- 540
-summary- "I found something worth staying for."
Guises in Four Seasons: Autumn
In the evening, after he's shown Ronon around most of the interesting bits of the city, he ducks back into his quarters for Helva and meets the newcomer in a high open room with varying levels and scalable sculptury things, some of which rotate. John thinks that it must be the Ancient equivalent of a park.
John sits on one of the sliding surfaces, some sort of combination of park bench and porch swing, and tunes Helva.
"Musician?" Ronon wonders, leaning against one of the taller structures, far more stiffly than John would.
"This is a guitar," John explains as his fingers slide into 'Coming Round the Mountain,' which has meant home for him for almost as long as he can remember. "Favored instrument of famous performers and guys foozling around after a few drinks."
Ronon shrugs.
John shrugs right back. "Also one of the few instruments that can be carried around in our world's version of Running."
"Said you didn't have Wraith, where you came from."
"We don't. I was running from myself."
Ronon snorts. "Did it work?"
"I found myself eventually. Hadn't seen him for a while." The chords absentmindedly turn into the chorus of 'My Back Pages.' "If I hadn't been given the chance to come to Atlantis, I'd probably be doing that again now. It's simpler, wandering the world with no more than you can carry. Strips you down to yourself and your ghosts, and most of them are too much to keep dragging with you." John notices what he's playing, and modulates it into a tune that goes to eleventeen ballads or so -- this one he knows he can keep up for hours without any input from his brain whatsoever.
"But you stopped."
"I found something worth staying for." Jenny, Jen, Gwenaver -- sun-bright hair and big eyes, and to lose one parent is misfortune but to lose both smacks of carelessness. He'd stayed ground-bound till she left him, running for tomorrow and leaving behind all her yesterdays, and it shouldn't have felt so much like a first breath of fresh air, to sign on the dotted line and know that with time and good marks he'd once again be told to fly.
"This place?" Ronon looks at him challengingly, straightening and using his body to take up more space, holding an aggressive stance. It's very well done, and John's instructors would have graded him well for its execution and then taken off a few points for failing to realize that its recipient was more amused than intimidated.
"These people," John corrects. Because in the end no place -- not even Atlantis -- is worth the life of even one of his people, and the day he forgets that is the day he'd best relieve himself of his command and take on no more responsibility than that of sentient remote control.
He starts trying to fit words to the tune he's playing about the people in question, but gives it up when he realizes he can't think of rhymes for genius or Elizabeth that don't make him want to burst into a fit of snickers and most likely convince Ronon that he's accepted the hospitality of a man with mental issues.
-author- Sophonisba (
saphanibaal)-warnings- Gen and suitable for general audiences. Takes place in the asymptotic-to-canon AU I've written in a few times before.
-spoilers- Missing scene for "Duet"
-characters- John, Ronon
-disclaimer- I own no part of Stargate: Atlantis. Somehow or another a fair bit of Manly Wade Wellman crept into this story here and there; I'm not him, either, although I could probably e.mail copies of the pass-it-on version Baen Books made of his "John" short stories to anyone who wants one. The second song mentioned is by Bob Dylan. In one line, Sheppard's thinking of Wilde, although I can't remember whether the quotation's correct or not.
-word count- 540
-summary- "I found something worth staying for."
Guises in Four Seasons: Autumn
In the evening, after he's shown Ronon around most of the interesting bits of the city, he ducks back into his quarters for Helva and meets the newcomer in a high open room with varying levels and scalable sculptury things, some of which rotate. John thinks that it must be the Ancient equivalent of a park.
John sits on one of the sliding surfaces, some sort of combination of park bench and porch swing, and tunes Helva.
"Musician?" Ronon wonders, leaning against one of the taller structures, far more stiffly than John would.
"This is a guitar," John explains as his fingers slide into 'Coming Round the Mountain,' which has meant home for him for almost as long as he can remember. "Favored instrument of famous performers and guys foozling around after a few drinks."
Ronon shrugs.
John shrugs right back. "Also one of the few instruments that can be carried around in our world's version of Running."
"Said you didn't have Wraith, where you came from."
"We don't. I was running from myself."
Ronon snorts. "Did it work?"
"I found myself eventually. Hadn't seen him for a while." The chords absentmindedly turn into the chorus of 'My Back Pages.' "If I hadn't been given the chance to come to Atlantis, I'd probably be doing that again now. It's simpler, wandering the world with no more than you can carry. Strips you down to yourself and your ghosts, and most of them are too much to keep dragging with you." John notices what he's playing, and modulates it into a tune that goes to eleventeen ballads or so -- this one he knows he can keep up for hours without any input from his brain whatsoever.
"But you stopped."
"I found something worth staying for." Jenny, Jen, Gwenaver -- sun-bright hair and big eyes, and to lose one parent is misfortune but to lose both smacks of carelessness. He'd stayed ground-bound till she left him, running for tomorrow and leaving behind all her yesterdays, and it shouldn't have felt so much like a first breath of fresh air, to sign on the dotted line and know that with time and good marks he'd once again be told to fly.
"This place?" Ronon looks at him challengingly, straightening and using his body to take up more space, holding an aggressive stance. It's very well done, and John's instructors would have graded him well for its execution and then taken off a few points for failing to realize that its recipient was more amused than intimidated.
"These people," John corrects. Because in the end no place -- not even Atlantis -- is worth the life of even one of his people, and the day he forgets that is the day he'd best relieve himself of his command and take on no more responsibility than that of sentient remote control.
He starts trying to fit words to the tune he's playing about the people in question, but gives it up when he realizes he can't think of rhymes for genius or Elizabeth that don't make him want to burst into a fit of snickers and most likely convince Ronon that he's accepted the hospitality of a man with mental issues.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-12 01:35 am (UTC)very nice.
Kristen
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-12 11:41 pm (UTC)If you notice, he hasn't really opened up that much to Ronon: he's said "yeah, I was a rurouni too," with an implication of "I know how hard it can be to stay in one place after that," he's played the guitar (which Ronon doesn't have the cultural context for to draw inferences), and he's said "these are people worth staying beside," which is no more than he said in canon.
But yeah, I think they have several things in common, especially the ability to adapt without losing themselves.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-13 06:48 am (UTC)*ahem*
i mean, i'm highly confused by your backstory for John - but it sounds very interesting and i'm getting more and more invested in figuring it out.
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-13 08:26 am (UTC)(Did I get the quotation wrong? If so, how?)
And I'm glad that I'm keeping your interest -- it was sort of the intention.
(I keep meaning to mention, by the way, that I love your icon.)
(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-13 06:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-14 10:58 pm (UTC)