don't worry, I'm a professional ([info]fallen_arazil) wrote,
@ 2008-03-31 22:26:00
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Current mood: nervous
Entry tags:fic:[sga]

SGA fic: Be But Sworn My Love [John/Meredith McKay]
Hi. Some interest was expressed by a few of you in seeing SG:A fic from me. Here is an offering that occured to me as I was driving home from work. (please note: this fic, despite it's title, is not actually sappy. It is, however, fluff.)

Title: Be But Sworn My Love
Author: [info]fallen_arazil, aka Djinn
Fandom/Pairing: Meredith/John (girl!Rodney au)
Rating: TEEN for bad language
Word Count: ~750
Summary: Meredith is filled with feminist rage. John understands. Really.
Author Notes: I have this strange fondness for AUs where certain characters are women. I think this is because a lot of the women in TV are poorly written, and I can't identify with them. Anyway, Rodney is one of the characters I felt a desire to feminize, so here we are.



"You!" Meredith snapped, arms crossed over her chest. John looked up from his pilfered paperback, bewildered.

"You were expecting someone else?"

Meredith pointed an accusing finger at John, her blue eyes ablaze. "One of those new scientists from the Daedalus referred to me this afternoon as 'Mrs. Sheppard'. Apparently one of your underlings, when asked about my identity, told him I was, not 'Dr. McKay, head of the science division', not 'Dr. McKay, smartest sentient being in this galaxy', not 'Dr. McKay, the only thing that stands between us and total annihilation on a regular basis', but Colonel Sheppard's wife. When did our marriage make me some sort of property?"

John sighed, putting his book aside. "I can't be held responsible for the ideology of every soldier under my command, Mer."

"Bull-fucking-shit! What happens when someone like that goes offworld to a planet run by a matriarchal society? 'Excuse me, ma'am, but I should really discuss this with your husband.' I'm sure they'll be very understanding!"

John rolled his eyes. "You're being--"

"If the next word out of your mouth is 'irrational'," Meredith seethed, "I'm filing for the universe's first intergalactic divorce. You're not the one that everyone is expecting to surrender their identity! Not to mention--do you know how many people have asked me when we're planing to spawn?"

"Three." Sheppard replied tiredly, because he'd been told about each one in great detail.

"And that's three too many! Who in their right mind would think that I want to be a mother? Who in their right mind would think that I should be a mother? All this antiquated, anti-feminist BS is--"

"Mer," John interrupted, trying to be soothing, "people are idiots, you know that, and they have a certain understanding of what happens when people get married. You'd think that living in a flying city in another galaxy would make people rethink their preconceived notions, but some things are just really ingrained. You're going to have to let some of it go."

"It's my name!" Meredith insisted. "How many complex scientific papers have your name on them?"

"All right," John said lightly, "I'll just take your name."

"Oh, knock it off." Meredith snapped, but she didn't turn her face away fast enough to disguise the look of wonder that crossed her face at the suggestion. "You would never. You'd be too afraid that everyone would think your big brass balls had shriveled up and fallen off."

"They'd just think that you had them in your pocket, which isn't far from the truth." John replied, flashing her his most charming smile. Mer's lips curled up a bit in the corner, and John was relieved by the sudden drop in tension in the room. "Anyway, you're the one who's going to be getting a Nobel prize and doing the lecture circuit when this is all over. I'll just be the dumb flyboy trophy husband."

Meredith finally crossed the room to collapse beside him in the best. "Oh, right. Like anyone is going to be interested in the chubby, Canadian, female head of the science division. You'll be the one all the TV bimbos will want to interview." Mer spoke in a ridiculous falsetto, sticking out her chest and shoving an imaginary microphone in John's face. "Oh, Colonel Sheppard, how many big bad aliens did you kill? Can you show us some of your scars? Oh, who do you think is going to pay you in the TV movie?" She flopped onto her back, clearly disgusted.

John was distracted for a moment by that thought. "Who would play me?"

Meredith narrowed her eyes at him thoughtfully for a moment, not sitting up. "Hmm. Jake Gyllenhall? He's a skinny pretty-boy, like you."

John poked her for that description, but didn't drop the subject. "And who would play you?"

Meredith snorted, throwing an arm over her eyes. "God, with my luck, probably Rosie O'Donnell."

John pulled a face. "I am not letting my character marry Rosie O'Donnell."

"Of course not." Meredith replied calmly. "If they made a movie, I'd probably be the villain. The arrogant, over-confident scientist who nearly gets everyone killed and who is saved by your brilliance and bravery. And then you'd probably get married to Teyla."

John considered that, and then laid down on the bed next to his wife, turning to throw an arm across her stomach. "TV movies always suck anyway." He said loftily, and he caught Meredith's lips turning up in a smile.



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(71 comments) - (Post a new comment)


[info]skyearth85
2008-04-01 10:33 am UTC (link)
it's simply delicious °o°

(Reply to this)


[info]deelaundry
2008-04-01 05:53 pm UTC (link)
Yay, Woman!Rodney. I love those. And this is a very excellent example. I bet she's not even chubby, she's just not model-thin.

*hugs Mer*

(Reply to this)


[info]truthslove
2008-04-02 12:04 am UTC (link)
This was great!

(Reply to this)


[info]severedscythe
2008-04-02 12:12 am UTC (link)
oh my god. You have no idea how much I'm in love with this right now. You wrote a chubby!girl Mckay. (as a side note, guess who I'm cosplaying this year? Chubby girl Mckay! I can't really help the chubby part, but yay! xD) and just. Auugh. I love the characterisation and the fact that John is so laid back about it all.

The rosie o'donnell bit made me cackle a little. Okay, maybe a lot. I think I scared my dog.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]ruggerdavey
2008-04-02 12:59 am UTC (link)
*lovs on chubby girl McKay* Glad other people realize how awesome that is. I hate how you find threads or comments in fic about Rodney and they are all "he's pared down since coming to Atlantis, and man is that hot" blahblahblah. He was hot before!

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-02 05:56 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-02 09:51 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-03 12:12 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-03 03:06 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-03 05:46 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-02 11:51 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-02 09:57 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-03 12:31 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-03 08:05 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-04 10:37 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-04 09:26 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]fallen_arazil, 2008-04-02 01:10 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-02 05:58 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-02 11:54 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-02 12:19 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-02 12:36 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-02 09:59 pm UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-03 12:13 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]ruggerdavey, 2008-04-03 03:08 am UTC
(no subject) - [info]severedscythe, 2008-04-03 05:45 am UTC

[info]mrshamill
2008-04-02 12:23 am UTC (link)
I liked that -- you made me chuckle with a couple of those. And I can just see John telling all the men under him "No, I'm Mr. McKay, now QUIT IT!" It has a lot of potential for silliness, that one does!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:13 am UTC (link)
*aHem* That would be COLONEL McKay. And then cue all the confused people thinking that Meredith has somehow been granted a military commission for some reason. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]silverspar
2008-04-02 12:35 am UTC (link)
Perfect.

(Reply to this)


[info]kashmir1
2008-04-02 12:38 am UTC (link)
Oh I loved this! Not enough girl!Rodney fic out there and this was just such a gorgeous little tidbit. :D

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:14 am UTC (link)
Well, I'm glad that it's not just me that finds the implications of a female McKay to be fascinating. ^_^ thanks!

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]kaybii_sharie
2008-04-02 12:42 am UTC (link)
Wonderful! I love girl!McKay fics!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 11:45 pm UTC (link)
thank you! I ahve a certain fondness for them, myself. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]d_odyssey
2008-04-02 12:45 am UTC (link)
Very clever. Loved the banter between Mer and John, I could hear them having this conversation. Made me smile with, "They'd just think you had them in your pocket, which isn't far from the truth." Enjoyed this, very good job.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:16 am UTC (link)
Thanks! I always strive for believability, especially in something liek this, where something as fundamental as gender is changed, so I'm glad they were both still recognizable. ^_^ Thanks!

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]ismenetruth
2008-04-02 12:48 am UTC (link)
ahahaha. Brilliant. I love that Meredith here is so perfectly our McKay, just with, you know, a vagina and legitimate feminist fury. And John. Oh, John. Welcome to SGA; I hope we see more from you!

[PS, as soon as I clicked the link I was confronted with Ray Kowalski's awesome hotness, and I decided preemptively to like the fic, given that you'd already shown such good taste in the series of pretty people in your header. :)]

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:32 am UTC (link)
Ah, I love that you used the word legitimate. I'd often thought that, if Rodney were a woman, surviving in the chauvinistic science world would have to engender in her a strong sense of pride in her womanhood, making her, to my mind, a vocal feminist.

And yes: Ray Kowalski is smokin' hot, the only Ray I'll ever need. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]ruggerdavey
2008-04-02 12:55 am UTC (link)
I love woman!Rodney. She is awesome! This is awesome! Yay!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:36 am UTC (link)
Yes, she is awesome. McKay is already awesome, and giving him a vagina could only make him better! ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]lerah99
2008-04-02 12:56 am UTC (link)
OMG!!! I adore this piece! You're Meredith ROCKS! That is exactly how I picture Rodeny as a woman.

Thank you for posting this.

I totally <3 you for this piece.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 01:34 am UTC (link)
Thank you! Meredith would have to be a feminist, being a double PhD, doncha think?

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]winter_elf
2008-04-02 01:42 am UTC (link)
Go Meredith! heh. Oh John, you're in soooo much trouble.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]hawtboyluvin
2008-04-02 05:17 am UTC (link)
You know what would be SWELL??

MORE stories from this GREAT UNIVERSE!

HINT HINT HINT

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]gravelgerdie1
2008-04-02 06:46 am UTC (link)
Ohhhh I loved this. I just adore AU SGA stories with McKay as the girl and John as her boyfriend (or in this case husband).
I wish more people would write more of these stories. I just love them.
Great job on this story:D

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 11:51 pm UTC (link)
I don't know what it is about a female Rodney, but the response I've received to her is astounding. For me, I guess the appeal is that a lot of the most interestingly written characters are male, and it makes me what to prove that they could be just as interesting as women. Plus, people simply react differently to women than they do to men, which makes it an interesting exercise.

Thanks for the praise. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]gravelgerdie1, 2008-04-03 03:02 am UTC

[info]emeraldteal
2008-04-02 07:01 am UTC (link)
"You would never. You'd be too afraid that everyone would think your big brass balls had shriveled up and fallen off."

"They'd just think that you had them in your pocket, which isn't far from the truth." John replied, flashing her his most charming smile.


<3 <3 <3 x infinity!

Yeah, there's not many girl!Rodney fics out there, and I haven't (in my limited reading) encountered any that addressed the issues that Meredith ranted about in your fic. This is made of win! \o/

Thanks for sharing. :)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-02 11:56 pm UTC (link)
I haven't (in my limited reading) encountered any that addressed the issues that Meredith ranted about in your fic

I've read some 'Rodney transformed into a girl' fic with mixed results, at least two 'Rodney is a FTM transsexual' fic, both of which were awesome, but only a few Meredith fics, and none specifically abotut feminist issues, which I have a certain focus on, so ... yeah. I thought it was a good idea, I guess. =P Thanks for taking the journey with me. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]monanotlisa
2008-04-02 08:53 am UTC (link)
I love genderswitchery, let me show you how, and I particularly like your voices. Always-been-a-girl AUs are a different and fascinating twist, and I think you've given them both credible attitudes and positions.

That said, although I must confess it's a pet peeve--Mer calling herself "chubby" irks me a little; Rodney sure wouldn't ever consider himself so, and with reason: He knows Sheppard, for example, is considered handsome, but he wouldn't get why he is not a quite fine if obviously differently typed guy. I understand that body issues are hard to avoid for a girl, that Mer might meet idiots who call her that, and that you used it in a context that allows for an ironic reading...but in any case, it means Mer has actively thought about and been confronted with this attribute. Guess I would just have needed more--more elaboration on how she looks, how she frames these words, why she thinks her body is so much less attractive than John's, which I think is the underlying issue I'm grappling with.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:07 am UTC (link)
Hmm. Well, we may have to agree to disagree on the amount that popular culture's view of beauty would affect Meredith vs. how it would affect Rodney, but that's a character interpretation issue.

As far as word choice, I really think you're seeing the description 'chubby' as far more pejorative than it was intended. As you said, the intention was to state characteristics that the media would find made her of lesser value than John, and she also listed her nationality and gender, which clearly are not things she views as faults.

In any case, Rodney is not, nor would Meredith be,swimsuit model material, and unfortunately I think the aesthetic standard are harsher for women, to the extent that society views any woman larger than a size 4 as a less than perfect picture of what a woman should be. (note: this is my own cynical view of American visual culture, and I admit I have attached it to Meredith) Whether or not she agrees with this society prejudice, which she obviously wouldn't, she can't help but be aware of it. Therefore, it's more the prejudice that would view her as 'chubby' (that is, slightly overweight) that she is referring to than her actual size.

It's just, this was a short fic, written in one sitting, and the main focus was the name one, not the body issue, so I felt comfortable leaving it at that.

Anyway, I'm glad that you liked my voices, in spite of that issue. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]monanotlisa, 2008-04-03 10:45 pm UTC

[info]zahz87
2008-04-02 09:07 am UTC (link)
I absolutely love this. I love girl McKay and i keep thinking that if they had cast the character of John or either Rodney as Jane and Merideth it might have been better.

I haven't found alot of girlRodney fics but damn this was great, i hope you right more from this Universe.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:16 am UTC (link)
if they had cast the character of John or either Rodney as Jane and Meredith it might have been better.

Hmm, well, I don't know if it would be better, but it would certainly be different and interesting, especially to see how the viewer audience reacted to the same lines coming out of a woman's mouth, as opposed to a man's.

Anyway, I'm glad you enjoyed it. ^_^ We'll see if I write any more such fics--I'm working on something else right now, but I have a fondness for Meredith, so I may come back to her.

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]gaffsie
2008-04-02 10:49 am UTC (link)
"They'd just think that you had them in your pocket, which isn't far from the truth." John replied, flashing her his most charming smile. Oh John, this is why you'll always be my TV boyfriend. ♥

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:17 am UTC (link)
Pshaw, you can have him, I want Rodney. And Wilson, and Dean from Supernatural, and ... well, pretty much all the people in my header. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]shadowserenity
2008-04-02 11:14 am UTC (link)
oh, girl!Rodney. Like you said, I think after going through all that shit to make her way to the top, Meredith/Rodney would support feminist ideas.

*squishes this story*

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:20 am UTC (link)
see, that's one of the main appeals of Meredith to me. Rodney has some chauvinistic tendencies, possibly from being in such a male-dominated field, and as a women he would be exactly the opposite, and all his annoyance and rage with his 'peers' would have a bit of a different tone.

Thank you for the comment. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]pixiequeen10thk
2008-04-02 11:56 am UTC (link)
I really liked this. I wasn't sure I'd like girl!Rodney, but I actually really do in this case. Finally someone we women can relate to :)!

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:24 am UTC (link)
. Finally someone we women can relate to :)!

Ahaha, as wonderful as Teyla is (aside from her costuming, but we won't go into my issues with that ...) as she is essentially an alien, it makes her ... well, alien to the audience as well. So, yes, I do think there is a dearth of easy-to-identify-with female characters .

Thanks for the praise! (and I love your icon. ^_^)

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]pixiequeen10thk, 2008-04-03 11:05 am UTC

[info]jadesfire2808
2008-04-02 07:56 pm UTC (link)
*grin* Perfect. Nothing more to say :)

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[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:25 am UTC (link)
Hee, thanks. ^_^

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]ceares
2008-04-02 08:15 pm UTC (link)
Oh, love laid back John and Mer being so very Rodneyish, and yeah absolutely about the name thing...pet peeve of mine actually.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:35 am UTC (link)
Mer being so very Rodneyish

Thank you! I was particularly proud of Mer's dialogue.

I have never read a girl!Rodney fic where Meredith changed her name, to be fair, but you know that at some point someone woudl refer to her as Mrs. John Sheppard regardless, and she would flip out and tear them several new orifices. A beautiful image.

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)(Thread)

(no subject) - [info]ceares, 2008-04-03 09:48 am UTC

[info]emeraldsword
2008-04-02 10:24 pm UTC (link)
hee, this amused me, thank you.

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:36 am UTC (link)
half humor, half feminist ranting, but I'm glad you enjoyed it. ^_^

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]ceitie
2008-04-02 11:42 pm UTC (link)
I love McKay's righteous anger here, and John being a good husband. :D

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-04-03 12:39 am UTC (link)
Righteous anger is right! One the most prevalent and therefore one of my most serious feminist peeves--the automatic assumption that a wife should/will take her husband's name. Grr.

Thanks for commenting!

~Djinn

(Reply to this) (Parent)


[info]csad21
2008-05-06 06:25 pm UTC (link)
Loved the story, well done! A rare-to-find, well written, female!Rodney where s/he isn't a simpering fool.

"If they made a movie, I'd probably be the villain. The arrogant, over-confident scientist who nearly gets everyone killed and who is saved by your brilliance and bravery."

Sadly, that's exactly the way the oh so clever sga script writers are trying to run the show (never mind that they don't make any sense sometimes in their endeavour to make Rodney an idiot and John a hero).

"And then you'd probably get married to Teyla." -- Dear god, girl, don't give them any ideas!!! (Teyla is too mature for John!)

(Waiting hopefully for more sga fic)

(Reply to this) (Thread)


[info]fallen_arazil
2008-05-07 01:24 am UTC (link)
Sadly, that's exactly the way the oh so clever sga script writers are trying to run the show (never mind that they don't make any sense sometimes in their endeavour to make Rodney an idiot and John a hero).

Well, sometimes I think you're right, and then other times I'm willing to be a bit more sympathetic and say that Sheppard basically is the main character, and therefore he is supposed to be the 'hero', so to speak, although you'd think that they'd be able to make him heroic without having to do it at the expense of the other characters.

Dear god, girl, don't give them any ideas!!! (Teyla is too mature for John!)

Well, I think that the writers realize that, and I think they've never really pushed Teyla/John too hard, thankfully.

~Djinn

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(71 comments) - (Post a new comment)

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