oh yay! I've been waiting and hoping for an update.
I love Ronon here, you nailed him, and the whole ice-glee-sadism thing with Rodney cracked me up!
What are you leading us up to with this Yvonne/John thing that folks are about to start believing in, hm? **waits for next part**
Now I need to write the Freeskate. God, I'm struggling with that part. I mean, it's just laying there right now like cold oatmeal. *pokes it*
As for the Yvonne/John, it's not going anywhere that you'd predict.
I love Ronon. Teyla refused to attend Nationals (she's not even remotely interested in figure skating) but it was good to see Ronon there to harass support John.
you certainly know how to build tension. LOVE Ronon coming to see John skate, and ADORE the ice bath. I also think it's hilarious that you have Radek encouraging the rumors about John and Yvonne.
Once more eagerly awaiting another update, not that you should take that as any type of pressure or anything..
No pressure other than the pressure I'm creating. The freeskate's not cooperating at the moment unfortunately. I wrote a couple sentences this am but it's still.... *shakes it*
Figure skating has a strange version of homophobia. They've no problem with skaters actually being gay so long as they don't contribute to skating's "gay" image and hurt them with the advertisers/sponsors. It can be an open secret, but the skaters who are straight are tiredly sick of the pink label, while supporters who have to sell men's skating to advertisers pounce on male skaters with wives and/or obvious girlfriends.
Now I'm worried about something. Did it come across that after the last six skated, John slipped to fourth? It's buried there in the middle and I don't that to be missed.
Ronon *most* adorable in his little cameo, what with the teasing and all.
And Radek's cameo is adorable in a whole different way - oh please, tell that guy John's straight! *snicker*, whether it's true or not. I particularly like that Radek didn't actually *lie*, just ... suggested.
Oh My Gods & Little Fishes (it needed the whole phrase), a cold water and ice bath. *shudder* Yeargh!!! Brrrrr!!! *shiver* I can see that it's not all hearts and flowers being loved by Rodney McKay - but, he does torture *because* he loves. *shiver*
By now, the suspense is actually getting a bit painful, waiting for John's long program. Add in the fact that we're closing on the end of the story - hey, depending on how much story we've got left, if there's not enough there to carry us all the way to the Olympics, John might actually los uh, never mind. I didn't say that. I'll just ... go chew my fingernails to the second joint or something....
How much is left?
If you look at this update, there are five scenes in it.
I have 25 scenes left to post. Of those 25, all I have left to write is one scene in the epilogue ... and the Freeskate.
That's it. Everything else is done. In Word, not including the Freeskate, I have 36 pages of story done and beta'd left to post. But I have to write the Freeskate first.
Always lovely to see more of this one. I loved the interaction between John and Ronon. The ice bath was priceless.
Thank you, yeah, I was happy Ronon chose to go. The ice bath was taken from RL (though thankfully I didn't have to do it).
Oh, Radek, you naughty boy. :-D And the ice bath! OW!
Radek didn't directly lie. Someone asked me exactly what Trevor's job in the USFSA is. We find that out later.
Another great update. I can't wait for more. When your all done with this story I'm going to sit down and read it all again . . . and again . . . and you know.
I can't wait to have all of it done to do the same thing. And edit. And edit some more. And edit some more. And....
I could hardly even bear to put my foot(briefly)in an ice tub, I can't even imagine sitting down in an ice bath. ::shudders::
"Somebody tell me he's straight." *snicker*
I watched someone do it (on tape, but she was briefly WG's personal trainer). Eii.
Figure skating's funny about the whole "gay" thing. It's perfectly okay to be gay. It can be an open secret. But nothing can tarnish the image (and therefore sponsorships) of US Figure Skating. But, oh yes, you're welcome here, more than welcome.
We're almost there. The big day. In John's time frame it's now one day away.
Heehee, loved the skate official rushing to get him up on the website, and the fact that Ronon came! Oh, and the masochism/sadism line, excellent. Why is this so haaaaaarrrrrd? Because all the good things are. You can doo eet!
I couldn't wait to add Ronon's reaction to figure skating, especially since it's SGA canon. ;)
You can doo eet!
*attempts not to panic*
So glad to see more! I think my favorite part in the whole thing was Rodney's unbridled glee at adding ice to the bath. I am keeping my fingers crossed for John and the competition. (And Ronon was just perfect.)
Rodney has a sizeable portion of eeeeviiiil in his psyche. ;)
In John-time, there's only one more day till the Freeskate.
Oh, Radek's sly insinuation that John is straight to bump up his chances at publicity! *admires the sneaky*
Oh, yes. The Yvonne/John angle was completely unplanned -- Sonja never imagined Skate for a Cure would have skate pairs, let alone skate with the popular Yvonne -- but Radek is taking full advantage of it.
As is US Figure Skating. They work very hard to build that straight cred whenever they can.
Yay, more! And Radek is pulling for Sheppard now...ahhhh.
Yep. Quietly, sneakily, in the background. He's been talking to Trevor about John over drinks since the Sectional. Okay, under the guise of talking about Rodney, but he made a point of leading the conversation over to John.
YAY! Ronon's here! :D
Poor John... I can't imagine sitting in a tub of ice water! whew! bbrrrrrrrr. So happy to have another update! Now I can go to bed happy!!
*claps like an excited child* yay!
*Hands you freshly baked brownies and chocolate milk* Just read through some of the previous comments and your replies. Just wanted to say: There's no need to feel rushed! If you feel pressured by the blinking cursor, take a break, go for a walk and think about it away from the computer. That usually helps me. I'll sit at the computer and nothing will come to me but as soon as I'm away from it... ideas come banging on the door to my brain. So I keep a pen and paper with me at all times :) Don't worry... we, your loyal fans (and John's loyal fans of course), will be here waiting when it's posted. No pressure and no worries!!
*Holds up sign that reads: John Sheppard's #1 fans!* :) lol
I must say though... I'm not looking forward to the end of this wonderful story! But at least it'll be here to read and reread and reread and reread as many times as I want to!
You have made me fall in love with figure skater!John. *Sigh* OoB is my happy place!
I loved the first scene with the 'behind the scenes' look at publicity in the skating world. I hope Radek and Rodney get a few moments together. Their interaction has been one of my favorite threads in this story.
You really do a good job letting us feel the chance-yness of the competition. That it not always the best skater, it's also who's having the best moment.
I can feel the precariousness of this time before the freeskate. Poor John has an injury. Yikes! I imagine most of your readers are hoping for John to pull off a big win. I'd love that... But, I think I'd also be fine if it doesn't happen. There's a Rodney part of this story that's a lot about coping with loss. It might be helpful to him to experience loss and see/help John deal with it from their POV as adults.
Thanks for the update. Your fic keeps me interested and thinking (and rambling).
Yeah, John's "image" actually even affects his scores. It's not fair, but believe it or not, John could not have come out of the blue and won based on his skating alone. If the figure skating world didn't want him, the scores would slant against him. Even with the new scoring system.
The Canadian skater Patrick Chan got a taste of that at Worlds last month. Across the board, elements where he'd been scored high all year (a 9 on a 1 to 10 scale) were scored a 7 -- by all the judges -- when he performed them no differently at Worlds than he had elsewhere.
I love seeing updates to your story. I know nothing about ice skating (being but a VERY casual watcher, now and again) - but I'm enjoying this anyway. Seeing another post is like finding an extra dollar or two stashed away that I didn't know I had - it puts a smile on my face.
I'm pulling for you in your creative struggle with the evil freeskate. I have no doubt you will emerge victorious!
When I started this I was an Olympics-only figure skating fan. And not even every Olympics either. To say I've done a little research in the last three years is to vastly understate the case. My base of knowledge was, "figure skates have a toepick and hockey skates don't. Oh, and jumps are important." That's it.
The freeskate is evil. There's no two ways about it.
The ice bath made me wince. Ouch.
Rodney tilted his own smile at him, eyes bright and alive with humor. "Ah, yes, you see, when you coach, you switch--" He indicated moving from one place to another with a little hopping arc of his hands. "--from masochism to sadism. That's the fun part."
He added more ice with entirely too much glee. John tipped his head back and laughed
Ah, Rodney's unique form of comfort. Never, ever change Rodney!
Gleeful torment. It's a whole new take on H/C.
"Ah, yes, you see, when you coach, you switch--" He indicated moving from one place to another with a little hopping arc of his hands. "--from masochism to sadism. That's the fun part."
My favorite line! :) Especially with his patented hand gestures. ^_^
btw: I had a funny dyslexia moment at the start of the fic where I read "the caterer adjusted" as "the catheter adjusted" and spent the next 30 seconds going 'what the heck?' and trying to figure out what I'd got wrong.
Oh, ha. I just re-read shaenie's "Indelible" this weekend. She calls the control chairs "cathedra" (the Ancient's term for them). I kept thinking "catheter" every time. Rodney slips very naturally into his role as coach-sadist. :D
Yay for posting! The ice bath still makes my teeth clench in sympathy. I've only soaked an ankle...body parts (especially ThoseMaleBodyParts!) would be too much to bear. John is both strong and brave.
Not to mention gracious in his offer to share said bath. ;)
Ice bath??? EEEEEK! Rodney enjoys way too much. LOL
Ronan cameo \o/
And just to let you know, I'm not nervous or worried or excited about the freeskate. Nope, calm, cool and collected...
Do you need cookies? Virtual massage? How about a joke?
A Dog's Duties
A school teacher was driving a bus full of kids when a fire truck zoomed past. Sitting in fire truck was a Dalmatian dog.
The children fell to discussing the dog's duties.
"They use him to keep crowds back," said one youngster.
"No," said another, "he's just for good luck."
A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."
*nods wisely* :D
A third child brought the argument to a close. "They use the dogs," she said firmly, "to find the fire hydrant."
LOL! Okay, that cracked me up.
Yeah, John's a little tense about the freeskate, too.
*shivers*
Ice baths? That *is* sadistic!
You're killing me with the suspense here! And I adore the 'voice over' commentary from the TV announcers.
Well done.
That's cool you like the voice overs. We (my betas and I) had a debate about the POV for the short program (John's perspective? Rodney's?) and we decided that this was the point where, well, it should be like what we see on TV. Because that's what John is. One of those guys we see once on NBC sports. Now we know everything that went into that moment.
OMG, for a minute there I thought you'd gone all postmodern, with describing the effect of an event instead of the event itself - and then I realized that I'd completely missed the update with the short program. As it turns out, even reading things out of order, there was still plenty of suspense - I couldn't wait to find out *how* John came in forth and why the audience loved him.
And you've so caught the media's obsession with creating an entire romance out of rumor and conjecture. John's standing RIGHT NEXT to Yvonne's mother! Can wedding bells be far behind?
I swear, I know the difference between forth and fourth...really.
I love this part! I really loved the commentators once again, also as others have said, don't worry about the 4th place thing, it was perfectly clear how it was meant.
Lovely to see Ronon here too. Also the interplay between John and Rodney over the ice bath was very well done.
Okay, good. In my mind these stories are written one scene at a time, and so they each are like ... postage stamps. They're written separately and out of order, and I rearrange them all over in the sticker book.
I get it now. Everyone else reads this story in a continuous narrative.
Yay for appearances from Ronon and Radek.
"Pla-ce-bo," Rodney said in a mocking tone, but he worked it in anyway.
This for me is so typically Rodney. I can hear him saying it.
*Waits patiently but on the edge of her seat for the next chapter*
I couldn't resist having Ronon come to the competition after canon had Ronon commenting on Blades of Glory. It's one of those "can't wait to post this one" scenes.
*chews nails over the freeskate*
Yay! Another update! Rodney's glee with the ice... so Rodney!! Now a nail-biting wait for the final skate... eeep! I love the gossip machinations going on... hee hee John Sheppard STRAIGHT? No way!!
Yeah, at the rink there's a little more speculation about John. But most people think he was sleeping with Elizabeth Weir.
Radek is a genius, and I love that he uses his powers for good. Or at least for John's benefit. *g* Wonderful Ronon scene. The ice bath made me wince in sympathy. Poor John!
Enjoyed this chapter very much!
Thank you. Radek is a sly fellow, isn't he? |