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

[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.