new fic: Reaction (SGA/MENSAverse)

[hth]

Reaction
by Hth

"McKay & Mrs. Miller" alternate universe (aka, the MENSAverse)
John Sheppard/Rod McKay (yes, really)
5600 words, PG-13ish


"If you shut up a second, I’m trying to ask you to dinner," Sheppard said.

"Isn’t that what– Oh," Rod said abruptly. "Oh, so – key word...not dinner, then."

Comments

[sage]

Oh, that's fantastic! :D

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you!

[ratcreature]

I liked this. (And I just had to use my lemon-icon, even though it doesn't fit with my reaction to the story. *G*)

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Hee! Well, lemon icons are useful in so many ways, aren't they? I'm glad you liked it!

[bluflamingo.livejournal.com]

I couldn't stand Rod in McKay and Mrs Miller, but you really made me like him in this. I love watching him fumble along in the face of Sheppard's ideas about how things should go, and I like this version of Sheppard who's a bit more openly vulnerable than the one we have, but still determined.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Well, I'm glad you liked it! I don't think of Rod as a fumbler, though -- he's just assessing and adjusting his strategy as best he can to whole new layers of Sheppard's issues springing up to trip him! That's the mark of genius, you know -- adaptability under adverse conditions *g*

[lamardeuse.livejournal.com]

Oh my god, you have now officially made me love MensaVerse Rod and John. Wow - this is perfect, and smart, and so well done. I didn't see Sheppard's freakout coming, and then I was just clutching my heart. Wonderful.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Yay, thank you! Smart is a good thing to be able to swing, when dealing with these characters -- we keep being told that they are, after all! *g*

[cathexys.livejournal.com]

Oh...I had to check three times to see that you'd really written that pairing...and I loved them so much! Slightly awkward, both of them, Rod's pov as not quite as obnoxious as we'd seen him and John a bundle of neuroses but with hints of his background and so toppy!!!

I love mensaverse, and your characters were a great extrapolation of what we know of the two in our dimension and what we glimpse from that ep about theirs. And they're real people, with enough real issues between them to not require elaborate artificial misunderstandings...

Thank you!!!!

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Oh...I had to check three times to see that you'd really written that pairing...

Hee. Well, I keep *telling* people that I rather like the pairing, really, but nobody ever believes me. I think this is my third Rodney/John story, and I'd certainly write more, if I ever had any interesting ideas for them. Heck, I'd really write Rodney with anyone, just because he's so absurdly fun and easy to write -- it's really just like the writing-equivalent of popcorn movies and beach reading.

Anyway, thanks for the lovely comments. I'm gad you like mensaverse stuff, too -- I adore it, but given that I got more comments on this story from people who hate the AU than like it (I can only imagine how many people hate it and therefore never bothered to read this), I'm assuming it's a fringe taste. I seem to have a lot of those!

[aynatonal.livejournal.com]

Lovely! Delightful! I enjoyed everything about that (although I would pathetically beg for the scene after the end of this story, if it would do any good).

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I wish I had the talent for porn to write the Thirty-Eight Minutes Later story, but I can pretty much only swing sex scenes when I have a really specific story goal with them -- and even then, I never really like my own porn. That's what I *read* fanfic for! *g*

[gaffsie.livejournal.com]

If he weren’t one huge walking neurosis, he’d be boyfriend material. Heh. I like this take on mensa!John.

Rod came across as more Rodney-like and human than in the ep - which is a good thing. :)

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I actually liked Rod a lot, which gathering from the comments to this story, seems to be a quirk unique to me. But one of the reasons I've written him twice and would like to do so again is that I see him as Rodney free of the rather pointless and neurotic self-doubt that I feel like is constantly tripping him up in canon and making him do and say the stupid things we do and say when we feel nervous. I always just want to shake him or hug him or both, because -- dude, Rodney is a ROCK STAR! -- smart and good-looking and funny, *hello*? And I just feel like if he knew that, he'd be -- well, Rod, and I thought it was really sweet that in the universe where Rodney *does* know that, he's actually much *less* self-absorbed and confident enough to do things that are out of his narrow comfort zone and make connections to other people and other generally human qualities. So, I don't know, to me Rod always came across as *very* Rodney-like -- just like the Rodney I always *want* Rodney to manage to be!

But, now I'm really just rambling. Thanks for the feedback!

[apple-pi.livejournal.com]

Gorgeously done, and I'll just be over here in the corner, dreamily imagining the scene directly after this one... *g*

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! If I didn't pretty much suck at porn, I would've loved to write it, but, sadly, I do. But I'm glad that I at least evoked good mental porn for you *g*

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Oh, this was excellent -- twisted and awkward yet bursting with hope.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! Sounds like a great description of a successful first date *g*

[opprobrium.livejournal.com]

Yeah! A new Hth story! And it's awesome! I think yours is the best take I've read on Mensaverse John & Rod. You really followed the canon guidelines without making them ridiculous and now they are in love! :))))

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! This was a bit of a palate-cleanser for me, wedged in between a rather dark Veronica Mars story I'd just finished and a rather dark Aiden Ford story I'm still working on -- so yes, I was all about the, OMG, I need someone to be in love and happy, STAT! *g* It lightened my mood immensely -- glad it made you happy, too!

[lillian13.livejournal.com]

Hah! Toppy!Dork!Sheppard will never get old. I'm very fond of all the Mensa!verse AUs...I want to see more, please. Please? :-)

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Toppy!Dork!Sheppard is my own personal favorite iteration -- so MENSAverse is kind of a beautiful gift for me -- instant canonicity, woot! *g* I don't know if I have anything else to say about this particular story, but I'm always on the watch for interesting MENSAverse ideas, because I do think it's a great AU to play with. Thanks for the encouragement!

[eotu.livejournal.com]

Oh, YUM! This is just how it would be in the Mensa-verse. If you wrote more of these guys, that would very OK.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm glad it rang true for you. I like the MENSAverse characters a lot, so I'm always hoping to come up with more story ideas for them. Fingers crossed!

[dkwilliams.livejournal.com]

This was wonderful! I love your Mensa-version of these guys, and Sheppard is a gem. (And I'd love to see more, too!)

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! MENSAverse Sheppard is tough to write, because of course, we've never seen him -- so I'm particularly glad to hear that the attempt worked for you.

[lavvyan.livejournal.com]

This? Is grand and has made a crappy day significantly better. Thank you. *fervently*

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Aw, you're very welcome! I always find that, somehow, fandom has the ability to ruin my good moods, but likewise the power to totally redeem my crappy days. *g* Thanks for the nice comment!

[dine.livejournal.com]

terrific - I adored John's overprotective outburst over the garnish. a complete overreaction but while he can fight the physical threats, how scary that he's not able to protect Rod from unforeseen random stuff like allergic reaction

it was nice to see Rod and Jeannie's relationship through their phone conversation - and even nicer to know they're on good terms

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I've noticed that one of those tropes I do over and over without really planning it is to have someone freak out over something wildly inconsequential, where it actually turns out that the event in question is just a trigger-point for some weird, deep-seated issue. I don't know where that comes from, except that I think most of us really are like that -- our Big Things are just too big to think about, so we funnel all that energy into tangentially related Little Things. I don't know, or it's just a quick and easy storytelling device *g*

I *adore* Jeannie, so that's always a big pull for me to writing MENSAverse fiction -- I can legitimately bring her in for a bit, because she and Rod really *are* close! The biggest sign for me that Rod has his life together way more than Rodney does is that only a very screwed-up person wouldn't fully appreciate having a sister as cool as Jeannie. (*checks watch to count down for "Miller's Crossing" next week...*)

[slashpile.livejournal.com]

Holy shit. This is a seriously sexyscary fic.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Hey, thanks!

[tharaist.livejournal.com]

Wow, I absolutely love this story!

I love what you've done with their personalities and their chemistry. Surprisingly I found myself liking your Rod, when usually I think he's just a creepy version of Rodney. The whole dinner scene was really awesome, protective!John and casual!Rod doing their thing. *g*

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! See, and I tend to think of him as the version of Rodney who isn't as hobbled by his fears and is also pretty good at treating other people like they're as interesting as he is. I'm a fan, really. And I love the idea -- I don't know how well it comes across in prose, but -- the idea that just like Rod is physically looser and more relaxed and comfortable than Rodney is, which you see in McK&MM, that Sheppard would be the reverse of that, and take on his tensions physically so that he'd trade in that kind of slouchy-cool canon physicality for a really nervous, military sort of bearing. I don't know, I'm not usually a very visual writer, so I have my doubts about how well I did it, but a lot of the story for me was a way to play with that casual bearing that John has in our universe and Rod has in his -- and the reverse of it.

[elbomac.livejournal.com]

Oh, man, I really, really love this. I love the way you've fleshed out these two characters, and your extrapolations make perfect sense to me. I love Rod's dawning realization and John's angst, and I love them finding each other. This is wonderful!

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Aw, thank you! AUs are a fantastically fun puzzle-game for me -- if we know this, then what follows? -- and if there's anything better than a good fanfic AU, it's a canon AU! I'm glad you liked the way I tried to solve the puzzle, and the story in general.

[rinsbane.livejournal.com]

This is so charming. I love the combination of things we know about them from our John and Rodney, and the things we know about Rod and his John. You meshed them so well and brought them to life.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you so much! It's a lot of fun, trying to bring those four characters together and figuring out where they all fit. I'm glad you enjoyed the results of my playing around with it. *g*

[not-sally.livejournal.com]

Obviously, I click the link and begin reading (because it's a story by you) and halfway through I'm like "Wait, what? Where's Ronon?! O.o"
XD
Loved this.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

I know, right!? I missed him while he was gone! *g* Well, not to fear: the story I'm almost done with now is AlphaCen-related, so we'll all get our fix.

In the meantime, I'm glad you liked this one, too!

[skeddy-kat.livejournal.com]

This was just wonderful. I hope you let us see more of it. I just wanted to have Rodney pick John up and hug him senseless.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

I think that John in general needs a *lot* more hugs than he gets. Or that, sadly, he would let himself have. I think Ronon thinks about that a lot, and while our Rodney has too many of his own issues to think of that as the solution, I think it would be equally obvious to Rod! I bet he spends a lot of time sighing inwardly and reminding himself that it would only freak John out worse if he just grabbed him and hugged him. Dumb John!

I'm so glad you liked the story -- thanks!

[wickedwords.livejournal.com]

I really loved this. Usually I don't really like Rod that much, but I loved the humor, and the way you brought out his beta-ness. That explained so much.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I'm a fan of beta-Rodney, and I think it's especially fun to write it in the MENSAverse, because you strip out some of the potentially more threatening baggage associated with submission and loss of control. Rodney is a guy who I think has to wrestle with his beta instincts, but Rod is more secure in most ways, and I think he's capable of just enjoying the *hell* out of it when the opportunity presents. *g* There's nothing sexier than a totally confident, well-grounded, high-self-esteem bottom! Now, if only I can think of a story that really requires some serious Rod-related pr0n, I will be in business!

[leaper182.livejournal.com]

I don't read a lot of MENSA-verse, but I really liked this. What really won me over is that no matter what kind of personalities Rodney and John have in any AU, they can still be awkward with each other and still have little blow-ups.

Awww, repressed Colonel!

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thanks, I'm glad you like it! There are a lot of things I find somewhat challenging when writing any version of the John/Rodney pairing -- but finding ways for them to be awkward and have conflict is never, ever among them! That part pretty much writes itself *g*

[dossier.livejournal.com]

huh. McKay/Sheppard? *squints* Is that really you? :>)

I really like this, I love that Sheppard is still military, with that cold edge. Fascinating observation by Rod, that Sheppard might have come from money, and it was all in the context of Sheppard's surroundings. Rod seems slightly less oily and creepy, and I love the glimpse that yes, he can sort of really be McKay a little, after all. Awesome.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Heh! I've pretty much given up reminding people that I am actually a fan of the pairing -- but, still true! *g* I'd write it more if I came up with more good ideas for them.

Writing MENSA!John is tough, because of course we've never really seen him, but the general sense I get is that he's a John who doesn't really care if anyone likes him or not (or acts as if that's true, at any rate...) -- an interesting parallel to Rod, who I think is essentially the Rodney who *does* care if people like him. So Rod becomes more outgoing and a good listener and involved in people's lives on their terms (learning Czech, hanging out with Ronon in his milieu, accepting Jeannie's choices and being happy for her)...and so maybe John isn't as willing or able to put on that aw-shucks-ma'am, friendly-guy charm over top of the special ops stone badass we know he is when he's not trying to be your friend. So in that sense, I think my instinct is that John in the MENSAverse comes across as much *more* military than our version -- that maybe it's harder to forget, dealing with him, than it is with the jumped-up surfer dude we're used to. *g*

Anyway, that's just me rambling. Thanks again for the nice feedback!

[burntcopper.livejournal.com]

ooo, very good. it was sweet and nice until the bust-up which just added that seriously unexpected raw edge.

[hth-the-first.livejournal.com]

Thank you! I think that's a good description of the kind of story I most like to try writing -- that there should be a combination of sweetness and something more raw. Hell, I think that's a good description of a non-doomed relationship in general! *g* Glad you liked the story.