DVD Commentary for Root of the Matter
Dec. 27th, 2009 05:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
kat_lairOne more DVD Commentary Meme answer. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
oikkuni asked for a commentary on Root of the Matter, a Stargate Atlantis triple-drabble (Cadman/Weir, PG-13). Sorry for the delay sweetie, bet you thought I’d forgotten...
DVD Commentary for Root of the Matter
This story was written fortrialia , who keeps telling me I should write more femmeslash. And perhaps I should. Interestingly, the three original stories (two of them co-authored with pushkin666 ) I have in indefinite WIP status at the moment, are all f/f pairings. But in fanfic this is rarely the case. I do miss writing female characters and often feel I should write more of them in some form or the other.
The pairing is alltrialia 's doing here. Cadman/Weir is something that I never really considered. In fact, my favourite female SGA character was always Kate Heightmeyer, possibly because it was easiest to identify with her. SGA wasn’t my first fandom, or even the fandom in which I first wrote fic in (that dubious honour goes to The X-Files), but it was the first fandom in which I posted my fic in. And it’s the one that made me create an LJ, make friends and start posting actively. So clearly, it has lots to answer for.
I wrote quite a bit in SGA, but then ‘Sunday’ happened and it single-handedle killed my favourite character and my love for the show (incidentally, I just rewatched it today, and it still makes me cry *feeble fist-shake*) It’s only now, about 3 years later, that I’m catching up with the last two seasons and tentatively thinking about returning to the fandom. In fact, talking about this has just reminded me that I have a Wraithbait account, and I should probably post this and a few other recent SGA fics there…
Anyway, the fic. The prompttrialia gave me was ‘flowers’ and at first I wanted to do something with meaning of flowers and perhaps Laura leaving them for Elizabeth to find and puzzle out. But then I realised that it would be impossible to get Earth flowers in Atlantis. So clearly, the next logical answer to a prompt like that was SEX POLLEN, FUCK YEAH! (I'm sorry, it's almost impossible for me to say that without all caps...)
So I started the story with a familiar trope: they’re off world, being shown around by the locals. Most times when I write SGA, I tend to write within a slight AU setting that assumes that the connection with Earth was never re-established and that Atlantis is to survive on its own. That sort of ‘closed society’ building and the challenges and possibilities it brings are a favourite of mine for fic writing.
“Garden of Life, we call it,” the guide says, grinning proudly.
Elizabeth suppresses a yawn, keeping her face schooled to a mask of attentive interest. It’s clear that this is the pinnacle of the otherwise boring tour. Making nice with the locals means smooth trade negotiations, which hopefully means that no one on Atlantis is going hungry for a while.
Use of pronouns is a bit muddled in the below sentence. But what I wanted to convey was how Cadman takes her duties of protection seriously, and how Weir is smart enough to follow her lead about it.
Cadman steps smoothly in front of her, just as they are about to enter. Elizabeth waits for the imperceptible nod that tells her it’s safe before following her under the imposing stone arch.
I wanted this fic to be very visceral. I wanted to somehow convey that assault to senses you experience when you step into a garden in the late summer, that heavy, almost obscene scent vegitation teetering on the edge of rot.
The scent hits her immediately; sweet and somehow primal. It’s like the first breath of the first day, and Elizabeth thinks this is what her ancestors must have smelled when they set foot on Earth, still new and unspoiled by human hand.
It’s beautiful. There are flowers everywhere; individual flowers standing tall and royal, creeping vines and trees and bushes of every shape and size, all of them covered in a riot of colour.
“M’am!” Cadman sounds worried. “I don’t think you should touch the...”
And then I did something that something thatoikkuni and a couple of other commenters thought was unusual for a sex pollen fic: I slowed things down. Instead of going for the frantic omgmusthavesexnow!!! feel with tearing of clothes, I wanted to make this almost dream-like. I thought the pollen would act like a narcotic, but the type that slows your senses and mind until it’s like swimming under water and every movement becomes exquisite, every brush of skin like making love. And to be honest, the fact that this is two women probably had something to do with the decision to make things slow and sensual. (Not that I have anything against aggressive, wall-slamming f/f sexing, I just can’t really see it for this particular pairing…)
Elizabeth blinks, confused. Why would anyone be worried in a place as lovely as this? Nearby, a group of marines are kissing, slow and languid, their clothes in disarray. Elizabeth smiles indulgently. They look happy.
All you worries and responsibilities disappear. Everything feels good. And if it feels good, there is no reason not to do it. Describing the flowers as ‘bleeding’ reinforces the visceral feel of the story.
“It’s okay,” she says. And it is. Everything is fine. Her hands are full of flowers, their broken stems bleeding over her skin.
Switching to first name is also deliberate as it shows the sudden disregard to professional distance, that would normally be important to both women.
“It’s okay, Laura.” The name tastes like treacle, sickly-sweet against the roof of her mouth and she can’t think of a single reason she shouldn’t use it.
O hai thar ‘fingers in mouth’ kink. And the ‘messing and smearing’ one. We always have such fun together when we play...
Elizabeth reaches out. Her fingertips are wet with sap when she trails them across Laura’s face, her mouth, inside it.
With this last line I wanted to keep the dream-like sensuality going. To me, it, and the whole fic really, became about soil and earth and how it is the beginning and end of all life, following each other in a timeless circle, the unceasing swing of the pendulum that pulls the two women along, just like it does everyone eventually.
When they fall, the ground rises up to meet them, gently like the upswing of a cradle.
oikkuni asked for a commentary on Root of the Matter, a Stargate Atlantis triple-drabble (Cadman/Weir, PG-13). Sorry for the delay sweetie, bet you thought I’d forgotten...DVD Commentary for Root of the Matter
This story was written for
trialia , who keeps telling me I should write more femmeslash. And perhaps I should. Interestingly, the three original stories (two of them co-authored with pushkin666 ) I have in indefinite WIP status at the moment, are all f/f pairings. But in fanfic this is rarely the case. I do miss writing female characters and often feel I should write more of them in some form or the other.The pairing is all
trialia 's doing here. Cadman/Weir is something that I never really considered. In fact, my favourite female SGA character was always Kate Heightmeyer, possibly because it was easiest to identify with her. SGA wasn’t my first fandom, or even the fandom in which I first wrote fic in (that dubious honour goes to The X-Files), but it was the first fandom in which I posted my fic in. And it’s the one that made me create an LJ, make friends and start posting actively. So clearly, it has lots to answer for.I wrote quite a bit in SGA, but then ‘Sunday’ happened and it single-handedle killed my favourite character and my love for the show (incidentally, I just rewatched it today, and it still makes me cry *feeble fist-shake*) It’s only now, about 3 years later, that I’m catching up with the last two seasons and tentatively thinking about returning to the fandom. In fact, talking about this has just reminded me that I have a Wraithbait account, and I should probably post this and a few other recent SGA fics there…
Anyway, the fic. The prompt
trialia gave me was ‘flowers’ and at first I wanted to do something with meaning of flowers and perhaps Laura leaving them for Elizabeth to find and puzzle out. But then I realised that it would be impossible to get Earth flowers in Atlantis. So clearly, the next logical answer to a prompt like that was SEX POLLEN, FUCK YEAH! (I'm sorry, it's almost impossible for me to say that without all caps...)So I started the story with a familiar trope: they’re off world, being shown around by the locals. Most times when I write SGA, I tend to write within a slight AU setting that assumes that the connection with Earth was never re-established and that Atlantis is to survive on its own. That sort of ‘closed society’ building and the challenges and possibilities it brings are a favourite of mine for fic writing.
“Garden of Life, we call it,” the guide says, grinning proudly.
Elizabeth suppresses a yawn, keeping her face schooled to a mask of attentive interest. It’s clear that this is the pinnacle of the otherwise boring tour. Making nice with the locals means smooth trade negotiations, which hopefully means that no one on Atlantis is going hungry for a while.
Use of pronouns is a bit muddled in the below sentence. But what I wanted to convey was how Cadman takes her duties of protection seriously, and how Weir is smart enough to follow her lead about it.
Cadman steps smoothly in front of her, just as they are about to enter. Elizabeth waits for the imperceptible nod that tells her it’s safe before following her under the imposing stone arch.
I wanted this fic to be very visceral. I wanted to somehow convey that assault to senses you experience when you step into a garden in the late summer, that heavy, almost obscene scent vegitation teetering on the edge of rot.
The scent hits her immediately; sweet and somehow primal. It’s like the first breath of the first day, and Elizabeth thinks this is what her ancestors must have smelled when they set foot on Earth, still new and unspoiled by human hand.
It’s beautiful. There are flowers everywhere; individual flowers standing tall and royal, creeping vines and trees and bushes of every shape and size, all of them covered in a riot of colour.
“M’am!” Cadman sounds worried. “I don’t think you should touch the...”
And then I did something that something that
oikkuni and a couple of other commenters thought was unusual for a sex pollen fic: I slowed things down. Instead of going for the frantic omgmusthavesexnow!!! feel with tearing of clothes, I wanted to make this almost dream-like. I thought the pollen would act like a narcotic, but the type that slows your senses and mind until it’s like swimming under water and every movement becomes exquisite, every brush of skin like making love. And to be honest, the fact that this is two women probably had something to do with the decision to make things slow and sensual. (Not that I have anything against aggressive, wall-slamming f/f sexing, I just can’t really see it for this particular pairing…)Elizabeth blinks, confused. Why would anyone be worried in a place as lovely as this? Nearby, a group of marines are kissing, slow and languid, their clothes in disarray. Elizabeth smiles indulgently. They look happy.
All you worries and responsibilities disappear. Everything feels good. And if it feels good, there is no reason not to do it. Describing the flowers as ‘bleeding’ reinforces the visceral feel of the story.
“It’s okay,” she says. And it is. Everything is fine. Her hands are full of flowers, their broken stems bleeding over her skin.
Switching to first name is also deliberate as it shows the sudden disregard to professional distance, that would normally be important to both women.
“It’s okay, Laura.” The name tastes like treacle, sickly-sweet against the roof of her mouth and she can’t think of a single reason she shouldn’t use it.
O hai thar ‘fingers in mouth’ kink. And the ‘messing and smearing’ one. We always have such fun together when we play...
Elizabeth reaches out. Her fingertips are wet with sap when she trails them across Laura’s face, her mouth, inside it.
With this last line I wanted to keep the dream-like sensuality going. To me, it, and the whole fic really, became about soil and earth and how it is the beginning and end of all life, following each other in a timeless circle, the unceasing swing of the pendulum that pulls the two women along, just like it does everyone eventually.
When they fall, the ground rises up to meet them, gently like the upswing of a cradle.