SGA 3x07 "Common Ground"

[eretria]

Now, we have - thank GOD - seen that the Wraith can do what many of us speculated they can. John has been given back the years that have been taken from him.
But for one: Just reversing the aging process is not the same as undoing the psychological trauma. And you cannot tell me for one moment that the feeding process doesn't bring out the darkest aspects of your soul. John was scared to death. He was suddenly a young man in an old man's body. He was feeling the life being sucked out of him. That's got to have some lingering side-effects.
*waves* Hi, Kate! Hi, nightmares!

And, secondly: He has the life-force back now, but what was given to him wasn't just what was taken from him. It was what the Wraith taken from the Genii as well. How does that influence John? Is it somehow along the lines of someone terminally ill receiving a donor's heart and feeling as though he has a connection to the donor? Life-force is something much more intimate than an organ. Not to go all romantic, but the Pegasans say that the Wraith suck out your soul. So, when the Wraith sucked those Genii dry and then gave John back his life, does that mean he gave John back his own soul and parts of the Genii's?
Or does the Wraith feeding process clean the life-force like an autoclave, so it's easier to digest? I mean, picture the Wraith ingesting that life-force, living through the life of the human it just sucked dry. That's either severely traumatising, or the Wraith get off on it because they don't have a way to live their lives the way humans do.

So, the question again: Do the Wraith give back clean life-force, or do they give it back with all the memories of the person they sucked dry piggy-backing on it. And, if so ... what does that do to John?


On a shallow note, I just about died lauging in delight when Rodney mentioned John's "subcutaneous transmitter". Why? Well, it's not overly remarkeable, of course, but Auburn and and me have started a new fic and sketched a scene where Rodney admits he's secretly injected just such a thing in Sheppard, since they're always losing him. Heeh.

And, uh, was anybody else flashing back to "Enemy Mine"?

Comments

[enname.livejournal.com]

So, basically you are asking how much of a real vampire is a Wraith?

The other option of course is that the wraith takes onboard the life-force stuff integrating it into themselves, before handing it back. How much is Wraith as well as Genii?

I won't meta at you.

Poor John. Turned into a bug/wraith thing, drained by a Wraith, aged by a Wraith and taken posession of by a random space person - he really does not have much control over his own body, does he? No wonder he would be rather screwy with this mental and emotional control.

*perk* fic? :P

[eretria.livejournal.com]

edited for typos
So, basically you are asking how much of a real vampire is a Wraith?

Bwuh? Here comes in my utter ignorance when it comes to Vampire myths and Vampire stories in general. Those just never were my cuppa.
Thus: Meta away.

John should definitely feel a much closer connection to Teyla now that he basically has a Wraith in his brain. And, I think Auburn said it already: How much did that Wraith in CG sense that John has some left over Iratus DNA? Maybe that's another reason he said that they weren't so different?

I also had the thought, even before I read tag-fic that ... what if, when taking life is incredibly painful, then receiving life is as well, but also, incredibly ... pleasurable? Like intense, painful pleasure. What if that screws with John as well? What if he now has the Wraith-induced misconception that only pain can bring pleasure? I'm not talking about happy kink here, nor about cutting (seriously, no, please) but about utter darkness. And, well, who will manage to set his mind straight (heh) again? And how?

And, heh, yeah, fic. That Tavern-thingy. If we ever find our happy-vibe again and it's not drowned out by the angsty bunnies popping up. Gotta watch me some more Vala, methinks.

[enname.livejournal.com]

Bah, typos. I'd spend all my life editing for typos if that were the case. Can't type in a straight line.

My brain is feeling too stupid for good (or even mediocre) meta, but um. Not going into the billion and one different vampiric versions out there, I think I was just referring to the very base idea of a vampire. They are animated corpses (give or take a myth or two) who rely on the life force of others to keep them going. Blood being the old idea of carrying the spiritual (ergo the blood of christ) and life. Some (many) myths would have that by drinking the blood they are imbibing you to keep animated.

So is a Wraith just a container for someone elses life force/personality, or are they literally a vampire? Or the third option of giving life being a sort of regurgitation of whatever is stored in their 'stomach'.

See, crappy meta. Rambly thoughts that shall be deleted from my skull.

I think it was Auburn who pointed out that the team has all now had contact with the enzyme, so in someways they are all sort of in together. The nature of John's interaction with the Wraith though is greatly different from Teyla's and it would be interesting to see that played out. In someways it is a great deal more intimate and violent than having small amounts of share DNA. Considering we don't know what the process was with John either.

Happy kink? Bah, who wants it. :) It is an interesting idea, but I would have thought that it would have taken a few more feedings/rebirths for it to have re hardwired something like a pleasure-pain response. Bit like Goa'uld sarcophagii. Then again, it might not be that only pain can bring pleasure, but that there is nothing comparable to that sort of pleasure at all. How do you come back from that?

:P Straight? *snerk*

I still have seen no Vala. Plus, well, angsty. In such an angsty type mood right now. Happy just makes me crave it more.

[danamaree.livejournal.com]

Hiya. *waves* coming from friendsfriends.

So the Wraith give back clean life-force, or do they give it back with all the memories of the person they sucked dry piggy-backing on it. And, if so ... what does that do to John?

I was thinking exactly the same thing, Sheppard didn't get his own lifeforce back, his was used up by the exertion and injuries the Wraith suffered to escape, his lifeforce would have been replaced by that of one of those guards.

Have you read the 'Ghosts of Columbia' by L.E. Modesity? In this novel ghosts are real, and the protagonist ends up with a ghost, another soul attaching itself to his accidentally. It almost brings him to insanity, but he's able to integrate the new memories and experiences in a way that leaves him mostly sane - but he's never the same again, he's a new person. It gives the protagonist the ability to love, his own experiences had crippled him emotionally, but the new soul had that ability, so for him it turns out OK. (mostly).

It brings up all kinds of exciting fanfiction ideas...I am a sad fangirl with a one track mind apparently!

[sleepwalker41.livejournal.com]

Um, I just have one question: Was that a different actor in the scenes where Sheppard had aged the most? Or was that one hell of a makeup job?

[eretria.livejournal.com]

I think I'd go with giving heavy props to the make-up people. But I'd have to double-check.

[sleepwalker41.livejournal.com]

It was pretty amazing, if it was him.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Heh. Since when are you watching, sweetheart?

[sleepwalker41.livejournal.com]

I only happened to watch it late Friday night after I woke up. I was still groggy, surfing the TV, looking for a place to land...and I landed on Sci-Fi channel and stuck around for most of the show.

[eretria.livejournal.com]

Nope, that's him. The features are still the same, so ... a really damn good make-up job. :o)