and the madness continues
Jul. 26th, 2006 08:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
janne_dIt has turned into a case of I've started, so I'll finish... SGA and it's characters are sadly not in my possession, I wish I had Joss Whedon's brain instead of just some of his lyrics, and I foresee difficult times ahead for the part of my brain that deals with rhymes.
Part One
Act One, Scene Two
John wandered through the city, listening to snatches of song from various rooms, and then made his way out onto a balcony to watch the waves for a while. The scene in the conference room hadn’t been too bad, but he didn’t want to risk bursting into song around anyone else if he could help it. He didn’t mind admitting to Rodney he’d sung about math, but if he started carolling about the joys of calculus around any of the Marines, he’d never live it down.
He wouldn’t have thought it could be the city causing this if Teyla hadn’t suggested it, but it did make a kind of sense. He’d always been aware of a certain… hum in the back of his mind from the city, ever since he had arrived and he’d thought a couple of times that it was almost a tune and he simply couldn’t quite hear it clearly enough to tell. And now that he thought about it, it had been getting more musical since they had installed the ZPM.
John grinned suddenly and leaned on the banister, looking down over the city. A singing city, how cool was that?
This time, he wasn’t even surprised when he started to sing.
“I’ve lived so many places
I’ve travelled so much on my own,
And all those empty spaces
Just made me feel more alone,
But now I’m here I know,
That I’m finally home
I belong with you
I never dreamed I’d find anywhere that felt like mine
But I know inside it’s true
You’re in my heart and mind, from now until the end of time.
When I walked through that Gate
I didn’t know what you’d be
But I felt a sense of fate
When you lit up under my feet,
And now I believe
That I’m never going to leave,
I belong with you
Now I’m here I know, that you’re deep inside my soul
There’s nothing I won’t do
I’d take on any role, just to keep you safe and whole
And I can hear you sing…”
He stopped to take a breath after the high note, and realised it was true. He could hear singing in his head, words he couldn’t understand picking up his tune and then singing along under his voice as he began again.
“It’s more than a vibe, I can hear you inside
I belong with you
And now I can see how many years you’ve prayed for me
I promise this to you
I’ll never let you be as alone as we’ve both been
And I can feel you…
And I can feel you
And I can feel you”
The voice that wasn’t John kept echoing the last lines of the tune in his head, growing gradually fainter and he turned and sank down with his back the balcony just as the music finally faded into silence.
Wow. He hadn’t seen that one coming. It wasn’t like when he’d sung about math: that had been light and basically unimportant, like he’d said. But the song John had just sung was totally different. Those were his feelings, but he’d never really thought them through before and he’d certainly never thought about articulating them like that. It was so personal and it had all just flowed right out without him thinking about it at all.
He looked around quickly, checking that no-one was nearby. He was really glad he appeared to be alone; he didn’t particularly want anyone else to have heard that.
It was kind of worrying actually. He didn’t think he would have stopped singing if someone had appeared, and who knew what else he would have come out with if there had been other people around? John had thought it was amusing at first, basically harmless though potentially a little embarrassing, but he was starting to change his mind. With any luck, it would turn out to be a temporary effect, or Rodney would figure out a way to make it temporary and until then John was seriously considering just avoiding people.
And he was definitely going to avoid one genius scientist in particular, because John starting to sing his deepest feelings anywhere near Rodney was a very, very bad idea.
~~
Act One, Scene Three
Rodney shut off the simulation he had been running and closed his laptop with a growl of disgust. Three hours he’d been trying to find the source of the music and the never-ending caterwauling going on around the city with no success.
“You have found nothing either then?” Zelenka asked, looking up from his corner of the lab.
“No, actually I’ve found all the secrets of the universe, including why Atlantis has suddenly turned into Broadway. That’s why I’m looking so happy and dancing around the lab, full of the joy of discovery,” Rodney replied.
“You shouldn’t tempt fate. Today the dancing may very well happen.”
“Oh, not likely. Not to me. I have willpower and dignity. Unlike some,” Rodney sniffed.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Obviously, that some people are weak-minded and far too easily influenced by whatever it is causing this.”
“Oh really? And I suppose by some people you mean me?” Zelenka said, standing up in annoyance.
“Well, if the dancing shoes fit,” Rodney sniped. “I didn’t see you abstaining from the group sing-a-long earlier, while I was immune.”
“And maybe that has more to do with your grumpiness than your strength of mind. Perhaps the effect is intended to identify boring stick-in-the-muds with no sense of fun,” Zelenka retorted.
“I have plenty of fun,” Rodney said, standing up too and pointing his pen at Radek threateningly. “And if you ask me, it’s a test intended to separate the easily distracted, happy-clappy idiots from those with superior intelligence and drive, and oh look, I’m the only one who’s passed. Big surprise.”
“Argh,” Zelenka yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “You are impossible! How do I stop from strangling you…”
“Oh please, you’re just pissed because you know I’m right, as usual and … wait did you hear a chord?”
“Oh dear,” Zelenka said and a moment later he started to sing.
“What did I do, to get a boss like you, I do not know.
How on this Earth could I be bad enough to get tormented so?
You grump around all day, and treat us like we are your slaves
But still I could say…
I’ll never tell.”
Zelenka broke off suddenly, shaking his head and glaring at Rodney. Hah. That had just proved Rodney’s point. He smirked at Zelenka but then to his horror he felt words rising up in his throat. He clapped his hands over his mouth but then the music cued him in and Zelenka smiled smugly as Rodney dropped his hands and took up the tune, unable to resist.
“Oh, don’t you dare, do you think that I care what you think of me?
You can just glare ‘cause your ideas go nowhere and your brain’s like a pea,
I’ve seen trained monkeys who could do this job better than you
And what I really think of you…
No, I’ll never tell.”
They faced off in the middle of the lab for a second, panting with the effort of holding back and then came in on the same line.
“Because there’s nothing to tell.”
As soon as they finished, the music turned into a jaunty tune and Rodney found he was walking in time, keeping pace with Zelenka so they circled around the laboratory benches. God, this was embarrassing. He hoped they got to the end before any of the other scientists appeared.
“I admit
By any test
He really is the best” Zelenka sang to the computers.
“And compared to all the rest,
He’s not the dumbest by far” Rodney completed the phrase, singing towards the benches instead of the only other person in the room.
“Actually,
He’s the smartest
Of all the other scientists” he went on, still singing it to a random corner of the room.
“This man, he is an artist
And in this place he’s the star” Zelenka chimed in and moved so they were standing together again as the music slowed again.
“I know we’re always complaining” they sang together.
“But his ideas are really daring" sang Zelenka.
“And I like that I don’t scare him” Rodney replied
“And there’s so much we could be sharing” they chorused,
“But that’s all very well, because I know that I’ll never tell.”
“When things are pressured, to watch him is a pleasure
And by any standard measure, he’s a genius I know,” Zelenka carolled cheerfully.
“He’s brilliant and quick
And so nice it makes me sick,
He’s…” Rodney sang and then Zelenka interrupted,
“He calls Kavanagh thick!”
“This is my verse, hello," Rodney sang pointedly. He hadn’t been finished, damn it.
“Oh, you , you make me crazy,” Zelenka warbled back and Rodney just stood and watched for a moment while Zelenka pulled his hair with both hands and jerked about in a weird little dance in time to the backing horn section that had suddenly begun to play. Much to his annoyance, the tune was so infectious that Rodney found himself hopping about as well until they both ran out of breath and wound up facing each other again for the first time since the song had started.
“You know, you’re such an asshole,” Zelenka sang, looking relieved as the insult flowed out.
“The feeling’s mutual,” Rodney replied, with a hand wave.
“With your arrogance and rudeness and your lack of common goodness,
And your belief that you are always right.” Zelenka fired back and then the horn section started up again and they both did another quick dance step, even though Rodney did his best not to.
“I am always right,” Rodney pointed out and then he was singing again,
“You’re a jerk,”
“You’re jerkier,” Zelenka retorted.
“Oh, please, there’s no such word as jerkier,
And don’t think that I can’t tell
When you insult me in Czech,” Rodney sang, pointing at Zelenka meaningfully.
“You forgot my name, you don’t listen to what I say
And at least once every day I want to break your neck," Zelenka sang and they glared at each other before chorusing as one again on the next line.
“And though, all this is true,
I find I can’t quite help liking you,”
“You’re the only one who can keep up with me," Rodney went on alone.
“You make me better than I’ve ever been,” Zelenka admitted in turn.
“If I’m honest then I find that I do admire your mind,” Rodney sang next, nodding resignedly at Zelenka’s questioning look.
“And I in turn admit I do respect you quite a bit,” Zelenka carried on with a sheepish shrug.
“You’re annoying” sang Rodney as the tune speeded up again. Finally, please let this be near the finale.
“You’re a brat,
And we fight like dog and cat,” Zelenka sang and then they were singing in harmony again.
“Ah but underneath all that we do get on really well,
Though God knows we’d never tell.
Our lips are sealed,
We take the fifth,
Nothing to see, move it along,
We’ll never
Tell.”
They both started laughing as they sang the last line and then suddenly they were hugging, and it seemed perfectly natural right up until the moment the music stopped.
There was a long awkward silence and then they both jumped back at the same time. Rodney knew he was flushing red and Zelenka looked just as horrified and embarrassed.
“Okay. Okay, this,” Rodney babbled, “this never happened.”
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” Zelenka agreed hurriedly.
“And we really, really need to find a way to stop it from not happening again,” Rodney said and spun away to his desk, seeing Zelenka nodding frantically out of the corner of his eye before the other man shot back to his own bench.
Rodney jerked open his laptop and restarted the simulation from earlier. Maybe now he had some real incentive, he’d be able to make it work out.
“Do you really admire my mind?” Zelenka asked after a few moments of blessed silence.
“No. Shut up.”
“You do, you think I’m brilliant,” Zelenka said in an insufferably pleased tone.
“Shut up,” Rodney said and typed faster.
Never. Happening. Again.
~~
Part One
Act One, Scene Two
John wandered through the city, listening to snatches of song from various rooms, and then made his way out onto a balcony to watch the waves for a while. The scene in the conference room hadn’t been too bad, but he didn’t want to risk bursting into song around anyone else if he could help it. He didn’t mind admitting to Rodney he’d sung about math, but if he started carolling about the joys of calculus around any of the Marines, he’d never live it down.
He wouldn’t have thought it could be the city causing this if Teyla hadn’t suggested it, but it did make a kind of sense. He’d always been aware of a certain… hum in the back of his mind from the city, ever since he had arrived and he’d thought a couple of times that it was almost a tune and he simply couldn’t quite hear it clearly enough to tell. And now that he thought about it, it had been getting more musical since they had installed the ZPM.
John grinned suddenly and leaned on the banister, looking down over the city. A singing city, how cool was that?
This time, he wasn’t even surprised when he started to sing.
“I’ve lived so many places
I’ve travelled so much on my own,
And all those empty spaces
Just made me feel more alone,
But now I’m here I know,
That I’m finally home
I belong with you
I never dreamed I’d find anywhere that felt like mine
But I know inside it’s true
You’re in my heart and mind, from now until the end of time.
When I walked through that Gate
I didn’t know what you’d be
But I felt a sense of fate
When you lit up under my feet,
And now I believe
That I’m never going to leave,
I belong with you
Now I’m here I know, that you’re deep inside my soul
There’s nothing I won’t do
I’d take on any role, just to keep you safe and whole
And I can hear you sing…”
He stopped to take a breath after the high note, and realised it was true. He could hear singing in his head, words he couldn’t understand picking up his tune and then singing along under his voice as he began again.
“It’s more than a vibe, I can hear you inside
I belong with you
And now I can see how many years you’ve prayed for me
I promise this to you
I’ll never let you be as alone as we’ve both been
And I can feel you…
And I can feel you
And I can feel you”
The voice that wasn’t John kept echoing the last lines of the tune in his head, growing gradually fainter and he turned and sank down with his back the balcony just as the music finally faded into silence.
Wow. He hadn’t seen that one coming. It wasn’t like when he’d sung about math: that had been light and basically unimportant, like he’d said. But the song John had just sung was totally different. Those were his feelings, but he’d never really thought them through before and he’d certainly never thought about articulating them like that. It was so personal and it had all just flowed right out without him thinking about it at all.
He looked around quickly, checking that no-one was nearby. He was really glad he appeared to be alone; he didn’t particularly want anyone else to have heard that.
It was kind of worrying actually. He didn’t think he would have stopped singing if someone had appeared, and who knew what else he would have come out with if there had been other people around? John had thought it was amusing at first, basically harmless though potentially a little embarrassing, but he was starting to change his mind. With any luck, it would turn out to be a temporary effect, or Rodney would figure out a way to make it temporary and until then John was seriously considering just avoiding people.
And he was definitely going to avoid one genius scientist in particular, because John starting to sing his deepest feelings anywhere near Rodney was a very, very bad idea.
~~
Act One, Scene Three
Rodney shut off the simulation he had been running and closed his laptop with a growl of disgust. Three hours he’d been trying to find the source of the music and the never-ending caterwauling going on around the city with no success.
“You have found nothing either then?” Zelenka asked, looking up from his corner of the lab.
“No, actually I’ve found all the secrets of the universe, including why Atlantis has suddenly turned into Broadway. That’s why I’m looking so happy and dancing around the lab, full of the joy of discovery,” Rodney replied.
“You shouldn’t tempt fate. Today the dancing may very well happen.”
“Oh, not likely. Not to me. I have willpower and dignity. Unlike some,” Rodney sniffed.
“And what is that supposed to mean?”
“Obviously, that some people are weak-minded and far too easily influenced by whatever it is causing this.”
“Oh really? And I suppose by some people you mean me?” Zelenka said, standing up in annoyance.
“Well, if the dancing shoes fit,” Rodney sniped. “I didn’t see you abstaining from the group sing-a-long earlier, while I was immune.”
“And maybe that has more to do with your grumpiness than your strength of mind. Perhaps the effect is intended to identify boring stick-in-the-muds with no sense of fun,” Zelenka retorted.
“I have plenty of fun,” Rodney said, standing up too and pointing his pen at Radek threateningly. “And if you ask me, it’s a test intended to separate the easily distracted, happy-clappy idiots from those with superior intelligence and drive, and oh look, I’m the only one who’s passed. Big surprise.”
“Argh,” Zelenka yelled, throwing his hands in the air. “You are impossible! How do I stop from strangling you…”
“Oh please, you’re just pissed because you know I’m right, as usual and … wait did you hear a chord?”
“Oh dear,” Zelenka said and a moment later he started to sing.
“What did I do, to get a boss like you, I do not know.
How on this Earth could I be bad enough to get tormented so?
You grump around all day, and treat us like we are your slaves
But still I could say…
I’ll never tell.”
Zelenka broke off suddenly, shaking his head and glaring at Rodney. Hah. That had just proved Rodney’s point. He smirked at Zelenka but then to his horror he felt words rising up in his throat. He clapped his hands over his mouth but then the music cued him in and Zelenka smiled smugly as Rodney dropped his hands and took up the tune, unable to resist.
“Oh, don’t you dare, do you think that I care what you think of me?
You can just glare ‘cause your ideas go nowhere and your brain’s like a pea,
I’ve seen trained monkeys who could do this job better than you
And what I really think of you…
No, I’ll never tell.”
They faced off in the middle of the lab for a second, panting with the effort of holding back and then came in on the same line.
“Because there’s nothing to tell.”
As soon as they finished, the music turned into a jaunty tune and Rodney found he was walking in time, keeping pace with Zelenka so they circled around the laboratory benches. God, this was embarrassing. He hoped they got to the end before any of the other scientists appeared.
“I admit
By any test
He really is the best” Zelenka sang to the computers.
“And compared to all the rest,
He’s not the dumbest by far” Rodney completed the phrase, singing towards the benches instead of the only other person in the room.
“Actually,
He’s the smartest
Of all the other scientists” he went on, still singing it to a random corner of the room.
“This man, he is an artist
And in this place he’s the star” Zelenka chimed in and moved so they were standing together again as the music slowed again.
“I know we’re always complaining” they sang together.
“But his ideas are really daring" sang Zelenka.
“And I like that I don’t scare him” Rodney replied
“And there’s so much we could be sharing” they chorused,
“But that’s all very well, because I know that I’ll never tell.”
“When things are pressured, to watch him is a pleasure
And by any standard measure, he’s a genius I know,” Zelenka carolled cheerfully.
“He’s brilliant and quick
And so nice it makes me sick,
He’s…” Rodney sang and then Zelenka interrupted,
“He calls Kavanagh thick!”
“This is my verse, hello," Rodney sang pointedly. He hadn’t been finished, damn it.
“Oh, you , you make me crazy,” Zelenka warbled back and Rodney just stood and watched for a moment while Zelenka pulled his hair with both hands and jerked about in a weird little dance in time to the backing horn section that had suddenly begun to play. Much to his annoyance, the tune was so infectious that Rodney found himself hopping about as well until they both ran out of breath and wound up facing each other again for the first time since the song had started.
“You know, you’re such an asshole,” Zelenka sang, looking relieved as the insult flowed out.
“The feeling’s mutual,” Rodney replied, with a hand wave.
“With your arrogance and rudeness and your lack of common goodness,
And your belief that you are always right.” Zelenka fired back and then the horn section started up again and they both did another quick dance step, even though Rodney did his best not to.
“I am always right,” Rodney pointed out and then he was singing again,
“You’re a jerk,”
“You’re jerkier,” Zelenka retorted.
“Oh, please, there’s no such word as jerkier,
And don’t think that I can’t tell
When you insult me in Czech,” Rodney sang, pointing at Zelenka meaningfully.
“You forgot my name, you don’t listen to what I say
And at least once every day I want to break your neck," Zelenka sang and they glared at each other before chorusing as one again on the next line.
“And though, all this is true,
I find I can’t quite help liking you,”
“You’re the only one who can keep up with me," Rodney went on alone.
“You make me better than I’ve ever been,” Zelenka admitted in turn.
“If I’m honest then I find that I do admire your mind,” Rodney sang next, nodding resignedly at Zelenka’s questioning look.
“And I in turn admit I do respect you quite a bit,” Zelenka carried on with a sheepish shrug.
“You’re annoying” sang Rodney as the tune speeded up again. Finally, please let this be near the finale.
“You’re a brat,
And we fight like dog and cat,” Zelenka sang and then they were singing in harmony again.
“Ah but underneath all that we do get on really well,
Though God knows we’d never tell.
Our lips are sealed,
We take the fifth,
Nothing to see, move it along,
We’ll never
Tell.”
They both started laughing as they sang the last line and then suddenly they were hugging, and it seemed perfectly natural right up until the moment the music stopped.
There was a long awkward silence and then they both jumped back at the same time. Rodney knew he was flushing red and Zelenka looked just as horrified and embarrassed.
“Okay. Okay, this,” Rodney babbled, “this never happened.”
“Yes, yes, absolutely,” Zelenka agreed hurriedly.
“And we really, really need to find a way to stop it from not happening again,” Rodney said and spun away to his desk, seeing Zelenka nodding frantically out of the corner of his eye before the other man shot back to his own bench.
Rodney jerked open his laptop and restarted the simulation from earlier. Maybe now he had some real incentive, he’d be able to make it work out.
“Do you really admire my mind?” Zelenka asked after a few moments of blessed silence.
“No. Shut up.”
“You do, you think I’m brilliant,” Zelenka said in an insufferably pleased tone.
“Shut up,” Rodney said and typed faster.
Never. Happening. Again.
~~
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-26 09:07 pm (UTC)Radek and Rodney duo, too funny! I imagine them dancing like Anya and Xander *laughs*
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:08 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-26 09:20 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 09:06 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:09 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 07:52 pm (UTC)*giggles some more*
*sighs happily*
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:10 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-27 08:38 pm (UTC)*dances and claps hands*
I listened to "I'll never tell" and read the lyrics... OMG how F*ing hilarious is this!!!
Can't wait for part 3!!!
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:11 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-28 05:13 am (UTC)&hearts !!
:D
(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:12 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-28 05:32 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2006-07-30 04:15 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-04 12:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2007-03-04 12:58 pm (UTC)