SGA 2x14

[eretria]

Quick first reaction to

Best. Episode. Ever.

Even Elizabeth didn't piss me off. John wanted to order Radek to go with him, Elizabeth did the sneaky psychocolgical thing that worked a thousand times better than any order. Yes, it may have been a little manipulating, but I feel like cheering for her. This is why she's the leader of the pack.

And Sheppard and Zelenka to the rescue was brilliant, brilliant, brilliant. I'm just glad that the whale-equivalent didn't talk to them. That would have been so terribly over the top that it would have destroyed the episode. But no. It was just attracted to the sound. Thank heavens.

The amusing things: John's hilarious little hop of joy when Elizabeth okays him to use the jumper as a submersible.
The return of John Sheppard's boxershorts and that glimpse of naked back. Sometimes I wonder if they just want to tease the fans with this.

The Zelenka-things:
David Nykl could read me the phone-book and I'd listen if only he spoke in the voice he used while hailing the jumper the entire time. Yowza.
Radek is such a brave little toaster. Although, why he had time to switch to his labcoat for work which didn't really call for one, and in a situation that called for "hurry the fuck up", is sort of fuzzy to me.

Generally: They were all pretty calm, considering they were currently losing their chief scientist and a damn good friend. The sense of urgency was missing in the first scenes. But that was just a small minus in an episode which was otherwise perfect.

And the shining point in an already fantastic episode: Oh, Rodney. Oh, Hewlett, you damn King of Acting. I'm still shaking all over.

And. Uhm. Eyelashes. There were water droplets clinging to his lashes and falling from them. That is such a wonderful detail that I am reduced to a gibbering heap here.

The amount of love I have for Rodney having trust issues is massive. He never once believed that they were really going to come rescue him, did he? "They're already writing my memorial speech." Didn't really deem himself worthy of being rescued. Even when Sheppard was outside, he still wouldn't believe.
But the other part of him, the one that was hallucinating Sam really did want to believe. Interesting struggle and so very, very well-acted.

Interesting side-note: When talking to himself, Rodney refers to himself as McKay, whereas Sheppard refers to himself as John.

I know slash-fans will probably get their knickers in a twist over Rodney kissing Sam, but you know what? It was perfect. They compliment each other, it was a desperate situation and Rodney has always had been "carrying a torch" for her. I would have been disappointed if there hadn't been a kiss. And if you really want the slash goggles, you can always say that he was essentially kissing himself. Plus, you know, at least now you know how he looks like in action. And he really does do the little noises everyone always describes in fic.
But I personally really, really, really want more McKay/Carter fic after this one. Can someone please get writing? Yes?

Though, on a shallow side-note: Couldn't they have afforded a better bra on AT? That's got to be one of the most ill-fitting bra's I've seen in a long while. Also, powder-blue? McKay, your brain goes strange ways.

Tidbits that I adored:
- Rodney's worst insult to the Jumper is "Lemon".
- He calls the Jumper "she", which really is saying a lot about his relationship with the city and its equipment, and I bet this is something he picked up from Sheppard.
- Zelenka calls Weir "Elizabeth". Since when? She always used to be Dr. Weir to him. What changed?
- John calls Zelenka "Radek". All about creating a comfort zone? Because that would fit my picture of John Sheppard. He's being very gentle with Zelenka the entire time, which is lovely.


Overall: Not an episode for McKay haters. But I ... I'm biased, I love McKay. And so I can freely say that this has shot straight to the top of my top three favourite episodes.

Fantastic. I love my show.

Er, while I'm wishing for fic already, here's one more: Warming-up-fic. Rodney almost died of hypothermia, he needs to get all warm and snug now he's rescued. Body-heat. Sharing, comforting. Somebody? Please?

In an aside - the whole talking to himself and to inanimate objects? The providing running commentary? Is so scarily familiar. I catch myself doing that far more than I'm comfortable with. Even though the running commentary does tend to amuse at least murron.

Comments

[meko00.livejournal.com]

LJ is as empty as a desert. Woe.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Bored, dear?

[meko00.livejournal.com]

A wee bit. ;-)

I'm just full of tea and very chatty.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Well, then, maybe you can tell me why it is that you think JF pretty and yet aren't watching SGA? Hm?

[gwene.livejournal.com]

You got me curious. What are the other two episodes in your top three??
I'm a McKay lover too, and this episode was simply amazing.

The show is really so much better because of David Hewlett's acting. I mean he's just awsome when freaked out and taking to himself (or to the jumper in this case)... well not just there, but he is at his best in those kind of situations (see The Hive).

I just watched it and I need somebody to whom I can SQUEE! because none of my RL or online friends are watching this show.

On a side note, I'm a McShep lover, and I didn't mind the McKay/Sam bits. I mean, I don't care as long as we see him get some action, and of course as long as he's only cheating on John with himself. lol!

I wouldn't mind reading more McKay/Sam fics if you ever write/found some.
I so want to see tags to this episode too where we see some kind of resolution on his physical state (I'm such a h/c slut) and his emotional state (same here).

He has to yell at Zelenka for making him go, then ask about the shield, then apologize and be glad they came for him =D

OMG this was so great. Rescue-John is hot and I-can't-swim-Zelenka is cute by the way, I so agree with you. I'm such a McKay lover that I would *almost* forget to mention them. *sigh* I have to go and watch it again.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Do feel free to squee here. We're in the same time-zone, that should make things easier. *waves to Paris*

I actually sort of fear the hardcore slasher's reactions to Sam, which I hope won't come, because those people usually tend to be smart.
But I've always liked Sam and am still of the firm belief that they would make a great pair, even if not as lovers (though as lovers, too).
Have you subscribed to sga_newsletter? you can check for McKay/Carter in their tags. And I daresay that more stories will surface, and hopefully soon.

And now, I'm abandoning you, as I have to go and watch the episode again. And again. And, uh, again.

[gwene.livejournal.com]

Oh cool, someone from the same time-zone! *waves back to Berlin* This means I don't have to stay up really late to squee with you, that's so great (damn american friends with a 6 hours jet lag)

I have indeed subscribed to sga_newsletter, I will check the McKay/Carter stories there later. I do hope we'll see some friends stories more than lovers stories, because I can't see them as lovers and having a happy ending, and I'm a sucker for happy endings!
I was expecting some of those taking place at the begining of season two when they go back to Earth, because McKay and Carter must have met at some point at the SGC. It's weird we didn't have many, or I may have missed them.
I still don't undertand why we saw Carson's Earth story, Elisabeth's Earth story, John's Earth story (sort of, though the other), but we din't hear about McKay's, like he wasn't even there... weird, isn't it?

Anyway, thanks for letting me DH-Squee! Because he's so worth it! lol!

[toniabarone.livejournal.com]

*nods and snaps fingers at you* Yes! Yes to all points! Yay!

...though don't diss the lab coat. Radek-hun looks very sexy in the lab coat.

But yes!

*pauses* Though I didn't notice the Rodney--McKay/John--John thing. Huh. But. Yes. DH is god.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

...though don't diss the lab coat. Radek-hun looks very sexy in the lab coat.

But he reminds me of my father when he's wearing a lab-coat, and really, that's just ... No. Better have Radek without the coat. He shouldn't really be wearing one, anyway - he's neither a biologist nor a chemist, so, why the coat?

[toniabarone.livejournal.com]

*blinks* Okay, right. In that case, don't blame you. *pushes her own kinks down and orders them not to bother other folk*

*thinks then shrugs* Maybe he likes it? The pockets? The way it looks cool-ish? Or, I know! If something blows, the coat'll catch first and he can easily shuck it, thus saving not only himself but those really cool blue shirts he always wears!

*pauses* Okay, no, lame. I got nuthin'.

[fenris_wolf0]

I know slash-fans will probably get their knickers in a twist over Rodney kissing Sam, but you know what? It was perfect.

You know, I don't think so: I am a diehard slash and McShep fan but I loved the Carter/McKay interactions and their kiss was really hot; Carter/McKay is in fact a very slash-like ship IMHO: as you mention yourself, 'they compliment each other', which is why most slash fans like slash (as far as I can tell).

Seriously, I can see no reason why slash fans should dislike this kiss. As a slash fan, the kiss I objected to was the 'Duet' one because it was played for laughs and was a grave invasion of privacy (by Cadman, I mean: being a woman does not mean that one is exempted from keeping it in one's pants, IMHO).

That is why I am a slash fan: it's for a relationship which approches real equality and departs from the cliched heterosexual one which by its very nature is not a relationship of equals.

But the Carter/McKay pairing is no ordinary ship, which this episode shows very well: under the blonde remarks -McKay is just naturally obnoxious- he truly respects and admires her. Regardless of who is smarter -which is not clear to me- he does know that she has some elusive quality of grace he longs for.

Note: about Sheppard referring to himself as John while McKay refers to himself as McKay? I think it's just a cultural thing: I get the impression Americans are very much into addressing others and referring to themselves by their first names.

Not being American, I grew up in an environment where I commonly referred to myself by my last name at school and addressed my classmates and friends by their last names too. After graduating, I first worked for a US company where you referred to everyone by their first name. This was really hard for me at first...

Anyway, it's consistent with McKay calling Sheppard 'Major' then 'Colonel', while Sheppard and Weir call him Rodney. To me, it's also confirmed by the fact that McKay eventually addresses Weir as Elizabeth while still calling Sheppard Colonel or referring to him as Sheppard: without going into intricate and boring social distinctions which are not relevant here, this is what I would expect of someone raised in the UK. Or anywhere in Europe, I suppose.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

That is why I am a slash fan: it's for a relationship which approches real equality and departs from the cliched heterosexual one which by its very nature is not a relationship of equals.

Wow. Can I just say thank you for this? I have been searching for an answer to why so many women enjoy slash so much (after a long period of getting used to it, fandom-exclusive to SGA, though, I definitely count myself among them), and you gave it without me even having to ask it.

However, what bothers me a little is the blantant dislike of het pairings. I'm not exclusive in that regard, I enjoy both, ad I can't understand the hate/disgust over het pairings as much as I can't understand the hate of slash pairings (unless they're almost incestual, both in het and slash). If the het-hate was just for bad writing, I might understand, but why are heterosexual relationships treated as if the persons in them have a disgusting disease? (I'm exaggerating intentionally, but I also have seen this line of thinking online)
While slash pairings are new and exciting and equal and thus probably archetypes for a new millenium, why is it that no one seems to be willing to give a chance to het pairings anymore? Is it boring to have heterosexual interests? Not trying to needle you here, but it's a conundrum I've come across multiple times and am really interested in finding an answer to.

[fenris_wolf0]

However, what bothers me a little is the blantant dislike of het pairings.

No, no, this is a fair question. I obviously cannot answer for the narrow-minded point of view of some teenagers who go a bit overboard in their judgements, but I think most slash fan do not dislike het as much as degrading het. Degrading to the woman, I mean.

Let me explain: I love the concept of McKay/Carter, just as I an onboard for Weir/Zelenka or Weir/ Becket or Sheppard/Teyla etc. However, the het pairing most often seen in SGA is Sheppard/Weir and this pairing I have lots of problems with, not because it's het, but because Sheppard does not respect and does not trust Weir: he outright defies her orders in 'Hot Zone' and we are supposed to accept meekly the fact that Weir apparently has a crush on him? Why? Why is such an unhealthy dynamic considered acceptable for a romantic relationship? Let me tell you that anyone of my subordinates, male or female, who disobeys me and does not respect my judgment is lucky not to be fired and is most certainly not going to be in my list of people to crush on. And even less likely to be someone whose illogical and badly thought-out arguments will sway my own opinion later on, the way Weir is constantly letting Sheppard do. This is gender-independant IMHO. Thus I would find Sheppard/Bates disgusting as well (even though Bates does not go as far as Sheppard since he actually follows Sheppard's explicit orders. He only shows very clearly he disagrees with them and that he does not respect Sheppard).

Yes, I have referred to Weir/Sheppard as sick and disgusting myself, but what is disgusting is the concept of someone who is supposed to be a leader being looked down upon and disobeyed by a subordinate without repercussions, then turning around for more abuse by getting romantically involved with the same person? Maybe I am a romantic, but I dislike pairings were mutual respect does not exist: this has nothing to do with whether the pairing is het or not, it has to do with the show's writers being incapable of even understanding that the problem exists: 'she is a woman, no surprise if Sheppard does not obey her and look, he did it before, so he's not singling her out!' It's a double-standrd at work: yes, Sheppard is not singling her out to disobey, but I think we can safely assume his prior superior did not have a blatant crush on him either... For similar reasons, I also dislike Sheppard/Ford (inequality of rank and age) or Teyla/Bates (known dislike, lack of trust and respect) etc.

Whereas I have no problem with Weir/Beckett, Cadman/Beckett McKay/Teyla etc. Any combination in other word where I see no reason to assume genuine liking, respect, affection and trust. This -BTW- is why I would find McKay/Zelenka just as disgusting as Weir/Sheppard.

You are going to say: but hold it! This sound as if only Weir/Sheppard gets your back up whereas I run into anti-het fans everywhere!

Well, the above is true for me, but you need to consider that:

(continued below)

[eretria.livejournal.com]

but because Sheppard does not respect and does not trust Weir:

I wouldn't go as far as saying that Sheppard doesn't respect Weir. He does, but he is stubborn enough to think that there are just things he knows better than she, and that there are divisions in their areas of expertise and she shouldn't venture into his territory. He doesn't go into politics, so she shouldn't venture into military matters. That's not necessarily disrespect, that's just a certain attitude. I doubt Weir would let him handle a potentially difficult political situation.
So, disrespect? Is not what I see. A lack of trust, that might be hitting closer to home. And not so much because Weir is who she is, but because John has trust issues to boot. And with her, they just come out even more, because she has to make decisions which are unpopular and which seem wrong to him, so naturally, he defies her. But he doesn't do it often, only in crucnh-situations, where his ethics and hers clash, and that, to me, isn't necessarily the same as a blatant disregard for her.
However, what you say about her being easily swayed ... Blame the writers. I personally am beginning to violently dislike the way the show's writers portray her as a mixture between insecure, cute schoolgirl easily swayed by smiles ("Instinct") then sliding to vindictive bitch (almost all Caldwell scenes), to caring, to strong leader, to a por judge of character and a truly bad with people person (Conversion - what WAS that line about being bad with giving people that kind of news? She's a diplomat, or a negotiator, at least, so why the hell can't she even act enough to give him bad news and be professional? That rankled, and rankled badly)
I really do think that most problems with Weir spring from a lax hand at writing the character. The writers don't seem to know what a strong leading female figure should look like (why, of WHY don't they take clues from Aeryn Sun?). So, generally, the people who are shooting Weir/Shepard out of the orbit for me with giving her such weak character traits, are the writers of the show.
That said, if a fan would take the time to create a strong Weir from the material we're given and then pair her off with Sheppard, giving a damn good explanation why it can and will work, then I'd buy it But seeing as things are now? No. You're absolutely right. It's almost like an anti-pairing. It's not that I hate it, but it simply doesn't work to have two characters who are supposed to be strong falling into the cliche of giggling, scared, crying damsel in distress and her horny teenaged loverboy coming to the rescue. It doesn't work, and it holds no appeal.
No, for a writer who could make it work ...

[fenris_wolf0]

(continued from above)

1) for some, it's McKay/Carter that represents the ultimate irritant because they have not forgotten or forgiven the 'dumb blonde' remark which personally I attribute to McKay's natural charm (he just can't help insulting everybody, note for instance how insulting he is to Beckett whom he still clearly considers a friend). And he is a complete chauvinist: this does nto mean he does not actually respect Carter more than he is willing to admit to her face (as 'Grace Under Pressure' shows clearly).

2) for others, it's Sheppard/Teyla that gets up their nose, because the whole 'alien princess'/main hero thing ala Star Trek is too cliched to be borne. They have nothing in common, are from different galaxies and all, but music starts playing in the background when they meet, they immediately fall in love at first sight and all that rot... it does not work for everyone. Same thing for the Chaya episode (mind you, that actress had a pretty nasty condescending look and could curl her lip like nobody's business).

3) then you have, in the Stargate universe, the whole O'Neill/Carter thing which to this day still gets lots of SG1 fans angry, even the non-slasher ones. The way Carter was suddenly presented as a giddy teenager with a crush on O'Neill instead of the strong, professional character she used to be was a nasty shock to most female fans. Most male SG writers did not even notice her suddenly over-the-top dialogue, as far as I can tell... Her fans did. The fans who only saw her as a blond bimbo were probably all for the pairing too.

4) Generally speaking, most shows nearly canon het pairings have a built-in element of the type discussed above: in the main fandom I was involved in, the most obvious het pairing was one I could not stand, not because it was het but because it was one that would have assumed that a former soldier, a war hero without a family, who had dedicated his life to war on enemy territory after being trained from infancy, would be able to live happily ever after with a literal princess -I kid you not!- who ends up as a diplomat because she has dedicated her life to pacifism: let's drop our weapons now and solve our problems politically. This makes for a nice a fairy tale, but a painful divorce in reality and personally I read fanfiction for escapism and romantic love, not emotional pain from mediocre conventional love stories.

As a result, regardless of the het pairing you are thinking about, some fans may have negative opinions about it, which could give you the impression that slash fans are anti-het, which is not the impression I get from 6+ years in different slash fandoms: we all have slightly different points of view and threshold of acceptance on these matters, whcih explains the fact that everyone differs on favorite and acceptable pairings.

But what most slash fans have in common is the fact that they prefer a slash pairing where the inequality of the pairing is not built-in. This, BTW, explain why popular het often includes incest, for the very same reasons that make incest unacceptable in real life. Where as RL incest is mostly the definition of unhealthy relationships with its basis in the predominance of one sibling over the other, in fanfiction incest brings two totally unrealistic facts:

-they are siblings, so they are equal (RL non-incestuous siblings mostly are)
- being siblings, they know each other very well and have lots in common

This does not mean that RL incest is something that anyone considers romantic.

Bottom line, I do not need realism in fanfiction because I see enough divorces and family infighting around me: I want to read stories where I can believe that love will triumph and the participants will live happily ever after because they are unique equals. Mismatched het couples who hardly know each other and have nothing in common and do not even respect each other will not live happily ever after -I know it, you know it, everyone knows it- and I do not take any pleasure in reading stories that can only end badly.

(continued below)

[eretria.livejournal.com]

in the main fandom I was involved in

That wasn't by any chance StarWars, was it?

[fenris_wolf0]

(continued from above)

On the other hand het pairings that can end well are always very readable (ie: Lois McMaster Bujold stories are enormously successful and it's not random chance) but stories where the pairing is het simply because a man and a woman are 'meant to be together' are a waste of time and may even be slightly sick making...

Finally remember that just as men find the idea of f/f exciting, so do women find the m/m concept hot: it's a physiological thing and pretty universal, really. Whereas m/f sex forces the reader to identify with one or the other of the characters, m/m or f/f allows the readers/writers an implicit distance in their enjoyment of the story. I remember once reading a female slash writer's notes to the effect that -being a lesbian- she preferred writing slash rather than femslash because it gave her a distance she needed to be able to write the kind of very personal and revealing character-study story she specialized in.

Sorry for the length of my reply, I hope I have not confused you too much.

:)

Note: personally I also love gen stories like yours and I would not mind seeing you stray towards the pre-slash side of the Force, especially since I enjoy my slash non-explicit too!)

[eretria.livejournal.com]

This calls for a long answer, and I don't have the time for that right this moment. So, it'll have to wait a bit, but it'll come.

The pre-slash side of the Force? Uhm. I realise that I haven't posted any stories in a while now, which will change soon, and when the story I'm talking about is done, you'll see I have shot so far into the slash side of the force that it should almost give people a whiplash. All hail my co-writer.

But your dislike for Weir/Sheppard is very understandable. But less - for me - because of the inequality, because people's hebaviour toward eachother can change given time, but more because there is zero chemistry between them. They're colleagues, I would even give them reluctant friends, a sort of sibling-like quality between them. But what's bothering me about most Sheppard/Weir is the horrible portrayal of both characters: She turns into a giggling school-girl and he turns into a mooning teenager. What's wrong with the writers who see them that way? Where do they see that?
I think what defines me liking slash more in this fandom is that most slash (and I'm making exceptions here as well, because there is bad slash as wel) is grown up, whereas most het in this fandom is infantile.
But good, equal het can work, too, as seen in my previous fandom - Alias. A pairing that never was, and yet it worked for exactly the reasons you gave above.
But, er, more later or I'll miss my train.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

stories where the pairing is het simply because a man and a woman are 'meant to be together' are a waste of time and may even be slightly sick making...

This is where I look at the Alias fandom and the canon pairing there and agree whole-heartedly. Same goes for StarWars (the whole dreaded Anakin/Padme thing), StarTrek, Lost ... It's a bit sad that such relationships are forced onto us with a shovel, banging us over the head, repeatedly saying: This is the one OTP, you must surrender or we don't even want you watching anymore. And that just ... No.

Interesting thing about the identification issues, as I have mentioned in a reply below, because that's something that just never occurred to me. But you have just answered a question I've had for a while now, which is why there is so comparatively much m/m and so little f/f. Thank you!

[diluvian.livejournal.com]

Fenris lists a lot of the various arguments I've seen for why women like m/m slash, but, some further thoughts:

1. Regarding cliche-level inequality - *very* few fandoms offer us strong women to pair up with the wonderful strong men. And by strong I mean the ones who have brains and spines. Scully was a good example of this, from (in my own opinion, mind) mid-third to late-seventh season. Lotta het in the XF fandom, and lots of threesome fic with various Scully/m/m groupings.

*Anyway,* just from a sheer numerical count, fewer female protagonists available.

2. SGA gives us a bunch of strong women, but the het pairings I see most (Shep/Weir & Shep/Teyla) -- I just see *no* sparks between the characters in canon. It feels to me that people smoosh them together simply because they are pretty. I myself was tempted to do the pretty!smoosh with Ronon/Teyla when he first showed up, but they quickly developed such a sibling vibe that I can't go there (and here I admit I like HP twincest, and Supernatural Wincest ::hangs head::).

Weir/Caldwell? I'm there. Weir/Ronon? I'm so there I'm practically paying rent already. These characters (to me!) have chemistry that could easily slide over into full-on sexual tension. Sadly, I have yet to perceive sparkage with Teyla and *anybody* -- which is a damn shame 'cause she is waaaay hot. Likewise, Shep doesn't much spark with any of the women they've foisted on him in canon. McShep? Owns me.

3. Another version of Fenris' last point, many women I've known/read admit the m/m pairings free them from what I call the ouch factor. I have difficulty watching guy-oriented porn because I'm constantly thinking, "OMG that would totally suck in the bad way if he did that to me," and the girl/girl stuff -- "OMG the 3-inch fingernails and high heels? Lose 'em!"

ie -- The distance Fenris cites allows women to read slash without direct (though possibly unconscious) "That could be me" thoughts regarding the physical canoodling.

So...

I mostly read slash, but will dip into het if I can buy into the setup. I'm just as baffled as you by the hardcore anti-het folks, but from what little I've seen (and subsequently ran away from) most of those people were *heavily* invested in a slash OTP and felt that the het (canon or otherwise) was intruding on taken territory.

Um, apologies for the fandom acronyms & shorthand-speak, should you be unfamiliar with any of them.
::flail::

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Um, apologies for the fandom acronyms & shorthand-speak, should you be unfamiliar with any of them.
::flail::

*snort* Fandom-Oldbie, here. It's not to worry.
Real answer later, as I'm rushed, but for now: Thanks for your input!

[eretria.livejournal.com]

SGA gives us a bunch of strong women, but the het pairings I see most (Shep/Weir & Shep/Teyla) -- I just see *no* sparks between the characters in canon.

Yes. Thank you, here. Pretty much teh only sparks you ever see are in the pairings that seem unlikely - sometimes a little between Lorne and Weir, Caldwell and Weir and Weir and Zelenka. And you have the odd spark between Weir and McKay, but very rarely.
But both the popular pairings: Sheppard/Weir and Sheppard/Teyla have what you have called a sibling vibe to me - it just doesn't work (as I explained to Fenris above). Sheppard respects Teyla and he may have flirted a little before he knew her, but that completely changed once they got to know eachother. And I like that, I enjoy seeing an onscreen relationship without sex smooshed in. It works without, too.
Now, Weir/Sheppard doesn'tw ork for me simply because of the chain of command thing (you just don't sleep with your boss without messing everything up) and two, because of the lack of chemistry as well. They're sometimes flirty with each other, but it never seems honest, as though they know it can never work out. It's teasing, and it's amusing, but there's no honest attraction. They know they're not sexuall interested in each other. Siblings, good friends, but no lovers.
So, er, yes. The lack of het on SGA is understandable, the blatant dislike of it that I often encounter still doesn't sit right with me.

Your point 3 just makes me grin, because that's just one thing I never really considered. Then again, I don't usually put myself in the protagonist role when reading het-fic or female POV fic, so ... that might explain that.

will dip into het if I can buy into the setup.

And here we have the crux. The setup. Most het just assumes, doesn't give a backstory, just plunges rightinto the relationship and tells us: This is how it is, now deal. And that just pisses me off. There are some truly fantastic first times in slash, and I far prefer reading those over established relationships, because that quells my need for explanation: Why are they together? How do they get together? How do they handle the new situation? How does it work? And that ... that's just something nearly no het writer provides. If there was a writer who could make me believe in Sheppard/Weir by explaining to me (in the fic) why it works, I'd be all there.

But the same problem I'm having with the lack of expose in het I have in certain really unusual slash pairings: Beckett/Zelenka? Oh, come on? Why? Where? Sheppard/Sumner? Bitch, please. Zelenka/Sheppard? I'm not seeing it, so explain. Set up, give backstory.
(This has turned into a rant at writers, not at you, so please forgive me if any of this rubs you wrong).
What would be so lovely to see would be writers taking the time to create a backstory in which a relationship can be grounded, and not just jump right in with: Oh, yeah, they'er togetehr and totally hot for eachother. Why? Because they are. That just ... No. Does. Not. Work.

Er, I'm offering a cookie and a mug of tea for appeasing, here.

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Made the last one before reading your review here. Hah! Do I know you, or what? *g*

All for you, baby, just you. Though, of course, if you wanted to share the Rodney love, I'd modify them and add them to my next post.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

I may have to be really unfair here and will say: Mine! Mine! All mine! My preciouses! Normally, I'd share, but those? *clutches them to her heart* Mine!

Because, really. You know me far too well. Thank you!!!
I love my Mona. (Who has such a pretty Christmas gift waiting for her. :o) And, no, you're not allowed to open it before the 24th. Even if I do send it on Wednesday.)

[monanotlisa.livejournal.com]

Hee! Alright, they are yours and only yours. & :-)) And I'm glad I could gauge you correctly. *g*