#atlantis is a colony and colonies have different rules than 'the mainland'

[mushroom-through-the-stargate]

sga headcanon time bc I can't sleep

Elizabeth does things differently. the sgc was, in a word, institutional. there were strict regulations that she very quickly realized would not work in the Pegasus galaxy. so she changed them slowly.

she noticed that most of the scientists would get caught up in what they were doing and work through their breaks and shift ends, so she set up intercom reminders for mealtimes and breaks. she heard some of the crew complaining about how uncomfortable the uniforms were, and frankly she didn't care much for them either, so she slowly made the rules more lax from letting people wear graphic tees under the jackets to comfortable shoes until eventually no one was wearing the uniforms. she allowed for adaptive reports, and recreational experiments, and sure why shouldn't the physicists turn that empty corridor into a bowling alley.

but, most importantly, she changed how they viewed her. with the SGC being a military operation, so many of her people worshipped at the alter of the chain of command. and you know what they say - it's lonely at the top. Elizabeth wanted them to treat her like an equal, a friend, one of them; to be able to come to her with anything. she wasn't some sovereign ruling over them from her glass office, she was a member of this expedition just like all of them. John, Rodney, Carson, and Teyla all treated her like a friend, and she loved that feeling so much she wanted the rest of them to treat her that way. and by making her office a safe place, it didn't take long for that to happen.