sga_santa | Fic: The Sacrificial Mage (McKay/Sheppard; Teyla/Kanaan; Weir/Zelenka, R)

ADMIN NOTE: Story removed at author's request and with recipient's agreement.

Title: The Sacrificial Mage
Author:

taste_is_sweet
Recipient:

lavvyan
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard; Teyla/Kanaan; background Weir/Zelenka
Rating: R
Word Count: About 65,000
Disclaimer: Nothing in the story to do with Stargate: Atlantis belongs to me. Some of the other stuff doesn't either.
Warnings: Graphic violence; self-harm which could possibly be triggering.
Author's Notes: I had the honor of writing for

lavvyan, who wanted a long, plotty McShep fic with Pining!John, Oblivious! Or Aware! but Rejecting!Rodney (for a good reason), and lots of drama and angsting before the mandatory Happy Ending. She also wanted AUs (preferably Fairy Tale AUs), little to no sex, skin hunger, John or Rodney protecting the other, Team Coolness and Radek. Not necessarily in that order. I think I got 'em all. ;D

I can say with no word of a lie that I worked like hell for this. This story was a labor of love that ended up being a successful NaNoWriMo novel, and then longer besides. I had been excited about the challenge of writing a perfect story gift for a stranger anyway, and when it turned out my recipient wasn't so much of a stranger after all it just made it that much better. (There's a homage to you in here, Lavvyan, above and beyond the entire story itself).

I had a blast with this thing, and I can only hope that

lavvyan enjoys reading it half as much as I enjoyed writing it for her.

Fun though this story was to write, I would never have finished it without the help and boundless enthusiasm of a bunch of wonderful people: The entire

wrisomifu community with their tireless support and cheerleading;

annieb1955,

fish_echo and

ribbon_purple because of their invaluable help with sorting out how this universe even worked and how I could make the Thing I Desperately Needed to Happen actually happen at all; and

anna_bird and

squeakyoflight, who were exactly the kind of beta readers I needed, and whose constant requests for the next chapter while the story was still in progress was the best kind of indication that I was doing okay.

Summary: Magic was a substance, like fire or water. It was abundant and incredibly powerful and could be manipulated with the correct application of knowledge and will. But if you didn't use it properly, you'd be immolated or drowned. Or worse: other people would be, and you'd be forced to watch it happening. That was why it terrified him to see the casual, unthinking way Teyla and Carson used magic, because he knew that someday they'd be forced to pay for what they'd taken. Every wizard would, sooner or later. It was the first thing mages ever learned, and Rodney had lived it.

Magic was a zero-sum game. If you didn't sacrifice as much as you were given, you would lose.

( The Sacrificial Mage )

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

So I'm at work and shouldn't really be checking my f-list, let alone read SGA Santa stories (which I will totally do tonight!), but I wanted to share my initial reaction with you:

Word Count: About 65,000

Holy shit. And may I just add how utterly gleeful your author's notes made me? I can't wait until tonight! ♥

ETA: Oh, seriously, where to begin? I love the world you created here, with its own lore and traditions and inner workings, and all the different kinds of magic. I especially liked the roles you gave Teyla and Ronon (Teyla - so pregnant, so awesome!), slightly removed from canon but still the characters I love. I really enjoyed how you incorporated-but-twisted canon in general. And oh, Radek! Golem!Radek, with his tragic decline and nearly killing Five and Rodney and then you killed him and then you brought him back! ♥

And! Poor Rodney always freezing (I can relate)! Teyla singing all night to keep Rodney's soul tied to his body! John cooling Rodney down with his body! The Chair - such a devious device, such sacrifice - and how all turned out well in the end!

And if that wasn't enough, dude! You made John a nightflyer! Imagine me flailing! *beams at you*

Also! Little to no sex! *laughs*

Thank you. Thank you so much. I laughed, I sniffled, I wibbled, I smiled. Of all the stories I could have possibly asked for, I can't imagine any one so awesome as this. You pushed all my buttons and made this a perfect, amazing, gift. And I'm humbled that you would pour in so much effort for me. Thank you.

Also, I'm pretty sure I know who you are. Though I've know to be wrong about these things.

ETA2: Hah! I knew it was you! Ask

kisahawklin - I gloated. :D

Edited 2010-01-01 13:51 (UTC)

Curses, you are too clever for me, Lavvyan! What gave me away? The word length? The blood? The impermenant character death?

(The repetitious phrases? The hyphens? The bizarre and frightening typos?)

Seriously though, I'm really, really happy that you liked this. I was so excited when it turned out I was writing for you, and your prompts were such a wonderful challenge. You've given the fandom so many fantastic stories (in every sense of the word) that it was my pleasure to write one for you.

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Leah

Actually, it's more like that this is exactly what I like to read. You write exactly what I like to read, down to sharing just about all of my buttons. Ergo, you had to be the writer. ;)

Plus, you know, the characterisation, the emotion, the misunderstandings, the self-sacrifice - this shares several elements with the Gifts 'verse, which you know I loved to bits and pieces. All of that pointed to you as "my" author, and I was hoping I'd be right. Insert happy face!

Thank you so, so much for writing this. It's honestly the best thing I got last year, even shinier than my new TV. Thank you. ♥

You honour me, sweetheart. :D

Fic: The Sacrificial Mage (McKay/Sheppard; Teyla/Kanaan; Weir/Zelenka, R)

This comment contains a lot of spoilers

Re: This comment contains a lot of spoilers

Re: This comment contains a lot of spoilers

Re: This comment contains a lot of spoilers