#sga epiphany

[dedkake]

she saw it in a vision.

[sga-owns-my-soul]

i'm working on a fic about it rn but i'm really thinking about how fucking frantic rodney is during epiphany and i'm thinking about how it's only six episodes after trinity and only two episodes after aurora, and john has straight up said (multiple times!!) that he doesn't trust rodney

and i'm wondering how much of rodney's panic was directly related to that. how scared was he that john would assume it took so long because of rodney's incompetence and take this as more of a reason to not trust (and maybe even hate) rodney. being worried that john would be stuck living out the rest of his life thinking the worst of rodney

and sometimes i wonder if rodney let johns "lack of trust" get to him. if part of why he was so frantic was because rodney started doubting his own abilities. i mean he straight up says he should have noticed the camera being out of memory/battery, and he berates himself for not sending john a note

idk if this even makes sense but i'm just. having a lot of thoughts about epiphany and what it does to john and rodney's relationship and specifically their trust in each other

[sun-ni-day]

okay you can totally ignore this but if you're inclined, i would love a gif of carson and rodney standing between elizabeth and the beast at the end of epiphany!! i would be forever and ever grateful 🙏🏼🙏🏼🙏🏼

is this the one?

[dr-futbol-blog]

Sanctuary, Pt. 4

Now. The Ancients. Let's do an excursus on them real quick.

There appears to be a strong sexual attraction between the Ancients, and to a lesser extent the people who hold the ATA gene. They feel drawn to each other and can feel this pull emanating from one another upon close proximity.

We are shown several times that Sheppard can feel the Ancients, he can recognize them based on their physical presence alone. Ancients and those still carrying the gene are instantly and powerfully attracted to him. He could also recognize that the replicators were not Ancients despite for all intents and purposes looking like them just based on their physical presence (they didn't feel "Ancient-y" to him). Ditto being able to clock the wraith among the Ancients in the virtual environment of Aurora (S02E09), because "There's something very odd about her." Even McKay with his artificial ATA gene can feel them:

McKay: I know I'm not normally Mr. Sensitive, but you've got to believe me when I say there is something about her. I know it's intangible, but I can feel it--*

This actually makes sense from an evolutionary stand-point.

There are "Four Great Races" in the SG universe. We know nothing of the Furlings. The Nox, given their reverence for nature, probably are DTF but because their life-spans are lengthened, it probably happens rarely. It would make sense for them to have mating cycles to keep their population under control but we have no information about this. Then there are Asgard. We know that they they evolved beyond sexual reproduction, actually becoming incapable of reproducing sexually. This lead to the destruction of their race through progressive attrition of their gene pool. And then there are the Ancients, the Alterans.

We know that the Ancients also evolved beyond their physical forms to beings of pure energy. But this didn't happen over night. It didn't happen in one generation.

In the episode Epiphany (S02E12), we meet people that are close to Ascension, close to evolving beyond their physical forms. They are not Ancients but as "those who came after", they are close enough. These people not only had and enjoyed sex but it seems like sex was one of the only pastimes that even slightly interested them beyond meditation anymore.

I'll argue later that Sheppard felt attraction toward both Avrid ("Then shouldn't he be the one bringing me breakfast?") and his sister Teer ("The woman teaching me how to meditate was… very attractive"), although he seems to not actively pursue women in general. Like he tells Teer, he never sees these things coming, with women. Sheppard most definitely had sex with both of them.

Now, this makes sense. If, as a species, your pursuit is to evolve into beings of pure energy and discard your physical bodies but this cannot be done in a single generation, there needs to be a strong sexual pull between members of this species. Otherwise they would, like the Asgard, die out for lack of sexual reproduction before reaching that goal. They need to feel sexual attraction toward each other, and it has to be pronounced to override their disinclination toward earthly pursuits.

There's a phenomenon called Genetic Sexual Attraction that exists in humans. It's an intense sexual attraction felt between people that are genetically close to one another (like siblings) that have not undergone the reverse sexual imprinting that usually takes place when peers are raised in close proximity. This reverse sexual imprinting can happen between children that are not genetically related to one another if they are raised together, and it seems to be missing between siblings that have been raised in separation. It's an unfortunate side-product of an assortative mating strategy in humans.

It would make sense for the Ancients to have evolved something of this nature to ascertain the survival of their species, which would keep members of the species too genetically close to one another from reproducing but to generally drive the people of their species to have a strong sexual attraction toward one another. This attraction would have to be strong enough to force them to mate and produce offspring despite a mental disinclination toward carnal pursuits.

The Ancients, whom we know dabbled in genetic manipulation, may even have reinforced this through scientific means, given that they were losing the war against wraith due to their diminishing numbers, being out-reproduced by the wraith. Further, the Alterans had also evolved to a state of physical beauty that humans frequently describe as "perfect". This beauty, this attractiveness, also contributes to the assortative mating strategy.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, of course, but it could maybe be argued that the people carrying the ATA gene also do seem to be more attractive than average humans. Somehow even Joe Spencer of Citizen Joe had married a woman way beyond his pay-grade (and also, I'm not saying O'Neill was attracted to him but it's interesting that they cast Dan Castellaneta, the voice of Homer Simpson, as the guy with the Ancient connection to O'Neill).

We see several examples of strong sexual attraction between Ancients. Janus, we learn, had many lovers (there's an argument to be made that they were women and men).

Jackson: Several of Janus' peers suspected he had a "bastion of unfettered thought and experimentation" or -- as one of his lovers put it... McKay: He had lovers? Jackson: "...an isle of solitude within the city walls."

Orlin wanted Samantha Carter so badly that he was willing to give up his ascension. He wasn't in love with her in some pure platonic way, he wanted her.

People with the ATA gene seem to have somewhat of a lessened version of this. When McKay's body was occupied by someone that didn't consider Carson Beckett his best friend, she wanted him so badly that she basically sexually assaulted him (and once she was no longer in McKay's body, this attraction seems to have vanished).

Not saying McKay wants Beckett by any means, but that this genetic resonance exists between their bodies after he received the gene therapy. I'm also not saying that Sheppard wanted to bone Beckett, but he sure was drawn directly to Beckett in the Antarctic base, following the sound of his voice. And then there's Gen. O'Neill with his "if you can't give me a yes by the time we reach McMurdo, I don't even want you!" who has chemistry with everyone.

And finally, there's Sheppard and his "what is it with you and ascended women?" (and men, my guy), who attracted to himself both Arvid and Teer but also both Mara and Tavius, and even Harmony and her sisters (who possessed a diminishing ATA gene). These are all people who barely knew him but definitely wanted to bone him right at the offset.

Because he has an exceptionally strong ATA gene. Strongest we've seen in a human. It's not mere main character syndrome that these people are instantly attracted to him, and this would also explain this instant connection between him and Chaya Sar, especially from her side as she had not felt this kind of connection for 10,000 years. There are just way too many examples of this same exact thing for it to be a coincidence.**

So where does this leave Sheppard and McKay? Was Sheppard attracted to McKay before he got the ATA gene through gene therapy? It's impossible to say. Before he got the gene, we mainly see McKay being drawn toward Sheppard. We might be able to make a case for McKay having been attracted to Sheppard from the outset. Also the fact that Beckett is his best friend might suggest that he is drawn to people that carry the gene, although again, it might just be because they are attractive by design.

But as soon as the gene is activated in McKay, Sheppard is more and more pulled toward him. Sheppard physically gravitates toward him, and although McKay is wearing a personal shield at the time, Sheppard is comfortable being in his presence, touching him, manhandling him as soon as McKay has had the gene therapy. It's not proof but it is enough to speculate.

Would it matter if Sheppard's initial attraction would have been motivated by this? After all, that's not what sparked his interest in Rodney.

The thing is, all of this is just sexual attraction. It's a biological imperative. It's incentive, it's not fate.

Love is so much more than simple physical attraction and even by this time, we have seen what ever it is that exists between Sheppard and McKay develop into something much deeper than mere attraction, a mere physical pull. It may have started as attraction but it was through their deeds and sacrifices that the two of them started falling for the other. It was through getting to know one another, the good and the bad, through sharing experiences, of joy and fear and humour and anger, that they've started forging a genuine bond between them. And this is the lesson that the episode is building toward. We get to learn what it is that Sheppard so desperately needs. And we get to learn who he can find it in.

Continued in Pt. 5

.* So let's assume for a moment that you're a Kinsey (5-)6. You've never felt genuine sexual attraction to the opposite sex. Performed it, yes, but not felt it spontaneously. Then you come across a member of the opposite sex you have every reason to dislike for personal, interpersonal, philosophical, ethical, religious, and other reasons. But you feel a strong sexual desire toward her, all out of the blue. That would be confusing to you. You wouldn't even know what to do with it. It would probably make you kind of nauseous. It would feel wrong. Yes, Rodney is clearly jealous, but it's not the only thing that is going on there. He hates her, literally, with a passion, from first sight.

.** So, like. McKay actually kind of does have a reason to worry about Sheppard and his sister given how he has historically fared with siblings but, like. As long as she doesn't have the gene therapy, you're fine.

[carsonsweebabyturtles]

Just another really pretty picture of Elizabeth Weir .

[dailystargatebooty]

[lightthewaybackhome]

Epiphany (S2:E12)

Sheppard: we don't leave our people behind, right. So, how about sending me a signal that you're still there?

The writers: we'll just break your heart a little bit. Just a bit. Not too much.

Really, it's David Hewlett that sells this episode. His franticness when he realizes what's happening and the danger Sheppard is in is what makes the rest of us feral.

And nothing really equals the torture of the last episode ending with Sheppard dealing with leaving Ford behind and clinging desperately to hope, only to follow that up with an episode where Sheppard believes he's been left beind. Twice, he says he doesn't feel like he won after facing the beast. I think he doesn't feel like he won after losing Ford even destroying two Hive ships. Sheppard feels like he just keeps losing, like he's not string enough to protect everyone.

I love as always, that Sheppard's good with kids, that even awkward introverts like to be with people, that the only thing keeping these people from Asending was fear even though they claim to fear nothing. It took a brave man facing his fear for the sake of others, even if he had to do it alone, to give them the courage to Ascend.

S: Okay, people, I'm starting to develop some real abandonment issues here.

Things said with the greatest of snark that hurt like a stab in the back, because!!! John, you haven't been abandoned! Your people are coming! Just hold on. 🥺

And then perfectly, they're all there, his people and his people, and Sheppard giving courage to then all.

[acabspocky]

When everyone in your family is a narcissist except you but you're not easily manipulated

[eddiestattoos]

Chapters: 21/? Fandom: Stargate Atlantis, Stargate SG-1 Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Characters: Daniel Jackson (Stargate), John Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Aiden Ford, Elizabeth Weir, Rodney McKay, Carson Beckett, Ronon Dex, Jennifer Keller Additional Tags: Not Canon Compliant, Canon Rewrite, Atlantis, Canon-Typical Violence, POV Daniel Jackson Summary (21): Daniel is reminded of some of his more painful days with SG1 as he can’t do much to help multiple of his friends who are stuck in threatening situations 

[stargatefests]

Stargate Microfic Challenge

Since we're celebrating the Stargate Anniverary fest for both SGA (20 years) and Stargate: The Movie (30 year), thought we'd throw another opportunity to join in the fun.

What is a 'microfic' -- as used on Tumblr, a microfic is 50 words. Half a drabble. Now, we're not going to be the microfic police. If you want to write more or less than 50 words for any of these prompts, you're more than welcome to do so. But a goal of 50-ish words is a challenge. Or, heck, do art... icons, drawbles... whatever you think fits is good enough for us.

The list below are 35 prompts originally from the McSheplets list on Live Journal. Use them in any order, or go back to the original McSheplets list (here) and find some prompts you do want to write.

MCSHEP NOT REQUIRED, we're just stealing the prompts. Write any pairing, no pairing. Write SG-1, SGU... any forms of Stargate works are welcome!

No promises, but if you @stargatefests on Tumblr, we'll try to reblog your work. And/or we'd love to have your work on the AO3 collection: https://archiveofourown.org/collections/Stargate_Anniversary_Fest_2024

The overall fest deadline is October 31, 2024. So that also applies here. Do what you can, when you can! We all win when you share something with us.

List of prompts below:

challenge: 040 - season 1

challenge: 041 - secret

challenge: 042 - pretending

challenge: 043 - crossover

challenge: 044 - at first sight

challenge: 045 - sacrifice

challenge: 046 - anticipation

challenge: 047 - home improvement

challenge: 048 - hope springs eternal

challenge: 049 - wet

challenge: 050 - return

challenge: 051 - handy

challenge: 052 - destiny

challenge: 053 - attention

challenge: 054 - mixed signals

challenge: 055 - movie

challenge: 056 - post-series

challenge: 057 - just in time

challenge: 058 - hindsight

challenge: 059 - tease

challenge: 060 - accident

challenge: 061 - the other side 3 (amnesty or wild card)

challenge: 062 - borrowed

challenge: 063 - fall

challenge: 064 - epiphany

challenge: 065 - dadt

challenge: 066 - honor and obey

challenge: 067 - matchmaking

challenge: 068 - play

challenge: 069 - awkward

challenge: 070 - high

challenge: 071 - history

challenge: 072 - animalistic

challenge: 073 - coming out

challenge: 074 - forgotten

challenge: 075 - pride

[dedkake]

last weekend i answered an ask about my top five fav john boots and i somehow FORGOT to mention his epiphany ugg boots and i am ASHAMED of myself. so here’s a post of my top five fav epiphany boots things.

5. comfy boys. versatile. ready for any sort of action. aesthetic 👌

4. good for tackling invisible monsters and rolling in the grass. these boots are doing a lot of work. the ties up the side are very accommodating to action!john.

3. nice for a good jog around town. or a ten mile run. whatever. yeah. that’s what the soles of those boots are designed for. sure.

2. they are good indoors too. and match john’s assknife aesthetic. this whole look is working on him. he’s rocking it. happy for him.

1. they’re so cozy. look at them. look how soft. john deserves more soft things. only soft things. all the time soft things.

[sga-owns-my-soul]

🔦favourite sga moment involving mcshep or weir x sheppard

okay well. if there's one thing anyone knows about me it's that i'll ship anything and i'm also mcshep trash so 😅 it's going to be too hard to narrow this down to one moment so you're getting my favourite moments

for shepweir, my absolute favourite moment in the show is in the storm/the eye when kolya says elizabeth is dead and john immediately goes from soldier mindset to genocidal rage and literally does not stop moving and killing until he's told elizabeth is still alive 🥰🥰 we love to see it, i WISH a man loved me enough to commit genocide for me omg actual goals 😍 (although the moment in the tower is also really cute at the end when elizabeth's like they didn't offer you king? and johns like i turned that down too and the little SMIRK SHE GIVES HIM OH MY GOD THEYRE ADORABLE FUCK also in epiphany when she's like ooh i like the beard and he's like it's the first to go when i get home ahhhh it's just. idk it's so domestic and so adorable ugh they're too cute)

also for mcshep, every mcshep moment is a good mcshep moment (and i can make pretty much anything mcshep if i try hard enough) but my favourites come down to:

at the end of hide and seek, when rodney is laying on the floor of the gate room and john rushes down and is the first one at his side but his hands are just fluttering around because he doesn't think he's allowed to touch (or maybe he's too scared to, scared of what he'll show if he gets to touch rodney) it's just sooooooooooo and then john saying he passed out bc he's SO PROUD OF RODNEY FOR BEING SO BRAVE FUCK

also in the defiant one, where rodney is clearly shitting a brick, having seen one of his scientist's dead and one dying, and wanting to go join the fight because he's so scared of john being out there alone and something happening to him. rodney is SO brave and it makes me want to scream and cry and chew on the wall when i think about how many huge changes rodney makes simply just because someone gave him a chance and cared about him

also the whole of millers crossing obviously, the fact that john went back to earth with him and being as worried about jeannie, to john talking a man into killing himself, i mean even rodney asking john for permission (even tho he ends up trying to do it anyways, because that's what john would do- sacrifice himself anyways, and rodney's learned from john) just. the entire episode makes me feral

and last but certainly not least, the shrine. my absolute favourite episode of anything ever, what is, in my opinion, the best piece of media ever created in all of human history. the way rodney loses everything but clings to john so desperately, the way john is the one jeannie turns to for comfort, the way john is breaking in every fucking scene, BEER ON THE PIER, god just literally everything about that episode is so insane to me (and david hewlett went so fucking hard that man deserves every damn award omfg) also kind of unrelated but it's my personal headcanon that rodney was saying i love you to john and not jennifer in that video, rodney was just aware enough to know he couldn't say johns name, but that message was for him 100%

[spurious]

Your McShep fics are giving me life. I'm CRAVING McShep content recently - its so hard to discover a love for old fandoms that are now less active! Please send me all the great other McShep fics you stumble across, I've burned my way through your whole library

Oh my goodness!!!! This ask plus the one from a few weeks ago are really telling me I need to get back to doing fic rec posts regularly!!!!!

First of all thank you so much for your kind words about my fic 💖💖💖💖 honestly for me SGA fandom feels soooo active, even though I know it was an actual juggernaut back in the day lmao. BUT that means that there’s a MASSIVE backlog of stuff to read!!!! Just insane amounts of staggeringly good fics!!!!

And second of all you can check all my previous rec posts here: the tag is sometimes ficlets I’ve reblogged but also lots of links and lists in there!!

ANYWAY. Let me see if I can rustle up some new recs for you my friend! I have a couple of unposted recs in my notes so we’ll pop those in first:

Five People Who Know by hestia_lacey | ~4k, rated E

Five people who know exactly how John Sheppard feels about Rodney McKay.

Only read this if you’re prepared to have your heart stomped on, but ahhhhhhhh. The first part, with Jeannie, is definitely my favorite.

Wishes on a Wheel by waterfalliam | ~3.2k, rated T

The sun is gentle, faintly wrong against his skin. The wind whispers against his arms and neck that he’s alive and that counts for something, he’s never wholly alone, he still has himself—but it’s nothing like the sea breeze that feels like home.

Absolutely beautifully sad introspective Epiphany!John piece, dealing with his depression and feelings of abandonment, with a sweet ending 💖

Solitary by @esteefee | ~5k, rated M

Four days in solitary gives a guy time to think. Unless he's an idiot.

Aggggh the John voice in this is immaculate (as is to be expected from esteefee ofc). Sardonically funny with a soft and chewy emotional core that just...takes a little time and a little chipping away at to get to. But, you know, worth it.

Followed by two faves from this year’s sga secret santa, both of them variations on the theme of John and Rodney making up:

In the Dark of the Night by @hero-in-waiting | ~5.8k, rated M

The problem with arguments is that they never happen at a good time. Which is a to be expected given their nature. And the problem with trying to make up is, at least in the Pegasus galaxy, they come at an even worst time. Especially when John and Rodney get stuck off world, running from some locals who took a dislike to them immediately and five days after an argument that, in John's opinion, had started over nothing.

But at least they were together?

Love the concept of this one, love them being forced into life or death situations before being able to talk about their feelings, looooove the misunderstanding on Rodney’s part 🥰🥹

When I Think of All the Worries That People Seem to Find by @audioletter | ~2.3k, rated G

After ten years of being together, John acts like John and Rodney acts like Rodney.

Absolutely cried reading this I love it so much. The depth of knowledge that they have for each other after so long is so apparent in the best, most beautiful way.

Aaaand let’s round it out with a nice long one:

Inukshuk by murron | ~80k, rated M

A mission-gone-south isolates Rodney and John from the rest of the team. Forced to search for an Ancient outpost, they struggle to keep each other alive until the time their kidnappers prepare to sacrifice the one and purify the other.

This is absolutely a mcshep fic but I almost found that taking a backseat for me in my enjoyment of the way that the plot unfolds, the way that it’s written? Absolutely spellbinding work, I struggled to put it down.

[itwoodbeprefect]

Fic authors self rec! When you get this, reply with your favorite five fics that you've written, then pass on to at least five other writers. Let’s spread the self-love 🤍

thank you!! ❤ sooo @actingcamplibrarian also sent me this one, and i'm going to take this opportunity to cheat (shamelessly!) and just. give another five fics. because there are more than ten of them on ao3, and because i can.

so again (mhuahaha), from five different fandoms, in no particular order:

-

Silly wrong but vivid right [sga, john/rodney]

i adore this now, but i went through a weird thing while writing it where i really loved the first half, and then i had to end it somehow and i came up with something that i didn't like very much, and i ended up posting it anyway because i still liked the first half a lot and felt it deserved to see the light of day. which is interesting to me because when i reread it now it doesn't feel wildly out of balance at all, and it all fits just fine, and i just still really really like the idea of 1) gay john getting some freedom and actually taking it, 2) rodney on the sidelines having Weird Feelings about it and drawing a very wrong conclusion, and 3) both of them still being idiots, at the end of the day.

-

Tell me the sky is falling now [starsky/hutch]

i like the way i opened this! and the way it ended too, and nearly all of what's in the middle. most of all though i like starsky Finding Out and being confused and maybe trying to freak out but hutch is right there, and he loves hutch, and he doesn't want to freak hutch out, and then he comes to some other conclusions, because it's hutch, and he's starsky, and that's the important part. this is one of those fics that i keep sort of almost rewriting in the sense that i have very similar ideas for a story and then have to try to figure out how to bend that new idea into a shape that's at least slightly unique so i don't actually end up writing a pale imitation of this one.

-

Cause if we’re all gonna die (Now’s the time to be alive) [h50, steve/danny]

in terms of my h50 fic this is definitely on the older side, but i still firmly stand by the headcanon behind this, i like that it has a good dosis of team banter, and it has some lines that i think of fondly from time to time, like this: He tumbles until he’s kissing Danny, awkwardly boxing Danny and his soft heat in against the cold and rough wall, not quite sure yet if this big bang is a creation myth or a mass extinction event. and, of course, taking the sappiness a step further still: Everything that comes after this point in time will forever be witnessed by eyes that have to send images off to be processed in a brain that also stores the memory of this kiss, which logically and inescapably prevents anything from ever being experienced the same as before.

-

Coming Up Aces [911, eddie/buck]

i don't know if i'd call this one a favorite writing-wise (at least overall - there are definitely parts that i do really like), but it does rank on a list of favorite fics i've written in the sense that, just. the way people connect with fic like this means something to me. and one of the things it means is that there should be more ace rep in (mainstream) media so people don't have to have these huge epiphany-like moments only while reading fic, but another is just feelings, big and warm and human.

-

Abandon your sad history (and meet me in the fire) [top gun, iceman/maverick]

top gun is A Movie, for sure, and i'd been trying to write some fic for it for a while when this finally came together. i loved playing with identities here, and the extended metaphors pretty much wrote themselves (iceman!), and every time i reread it and come to the line that mentions iceman is drinking an old fashioned while trying to fend off maverick's very queer advances i give myself a little pat on the back for subtle jokes.

[mostlymcshep]

it could’ve started like this: a mcshep get-together per episode

s2e12: Epiphany | grieving, m, (2m 32s)

John’s not sure when the dreams started. He thinks maybe it was back in the cave, during that first week, when he’d spent most of his time yelling into his radio and hating McKay for getting him into this situation. He remembers one vivid moment of wishing McKay would never find him, hoping that McKay would be plagued by guilt for the rest of his life for losing Colonel Sheppard on some random planet in the Pegasus Galaxy. 

But the dreams—in the dreams, McKay is always there.

read it on ao3 | listen on ao3 | full series on Tumblr

fic and art by @dedkake. Podlet recorded for the SGA fanart only server second birthday bash

[carsonsweebabyturtles]

Carson Beckett in Every Episode - Epiphany (S02E12)