Fic Rec - Relativity by KathainBowen

[kriadydragon]

Title: Relativity
Author: KathainBowen
Rating: M
Characters: Sheppard, McKay, Ronon, Teyla
Warnings. **Dark!** majorly dark. Extremely dark. Emaciation, one scene of self-mutilation, mentions of suicide attempts. Ye have been warned.
Summary: Patient John Sheppard is dying in a psychiatric institute after a horrific accident, unable to separate himself from delusions of being a hero in the fabled city of Atlantis. One shot!

I'm still dithering as to whether or not to post this one on Gen Rec. It is gen, but I do not use the term "dark" lightly. It's one of those stories that to warn for all the squicks in detail is to give a lot away that would diminish a very excellent kick-to-the-gut revelation. Don't worry, it's not a death fic. But I can't say enough about how dark this one is - as in expect a realistic ending, not exactly a happy ending.

That said, it was a very powerful and heart-wrenching read. What is done to John is horrible and the story itself almost made me cry more than once. But the friendship in this one, especially between John and Rodney, is beautiful. What I loved above all was the handling of a trope that I feel is often mishandled in fic. There are no quick fixes, no glossing over anything that happened to John. Everything John goes through and its aftermath is explored in all its emotionally damaging detail. And yet there is still hope, eventually.

If you would like to know the full details I can PM you. If not, proceed with caution. Along with a lot of potential squicks the authors has a thing for flowery language. The story is well written but the wordiness can be a little tiring at times.

Comments

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

Sounds A LOT heavier than that one where he drops out of the sky, is barefoot when they pick him up and he ends up in the ER..........spilling too much information due to whatever someone has injected him with...........
I forget title but it was good.........

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Dang it, now I want to read that ;P

Yeah, this one is pretty heavy. Read with caution. It actually haunted me for a bit after reading.

[black-raven135.livejournal.com]

there you go..........
http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3842910/1/
**grins**

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yay! :D

Yeah, the above story is very heavy - heavier than my Castles in the Sky, even.

[padawan-aneiki.livejournal.com]

Okay, yeah, that was dark. I know I don't like the "sealed event." I think the fic, written the way it was, could've been fine without that. But the climactic scene between John and Rodney really was heartbreaking.

Jury's still out on this one. I'm not sure if I liked it or not.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah. the reveal was very "Whoa!" Would the story have worked without it? I think it's definitely possible, but I liked how the story handled it. I personally feel that that kind of thing isn't often treated with respect in a lot of fic and it was nice to read a story that handled the aftermath so realistically, without pushing for some quick emotional fix-it.

[drufan.livejournal.com]

I'm in agreement with padawan aneiki. Jury's still out. But very well written and the teamy goodness is present. But wow, the reveal is one of my squicks.

[kriadydragon.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It was quite the shock. I really didn't see that coming. But I liked how it was handled. It's rare to see that kind of thing treated realistically in fic and I really liked that it was.