Fic: Disconnect
Sep. 10th, 2010 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
arevhatTitle: Disconnect
Word Count: 444
Rated: PG
Setting: DWTB
Characters: Aeryn Sun, Chiana
Summary: Under the seams runs the pain. - Anne Carson
Disclaimer: Farscape and its characters belong to The Jim Henson Company, and not to me.
Setting: DWTB.
Rating & Warnings: PG.
Thank You: Em,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
olegscape , and olegscape for the feedback and much needed ego-boos.
DISCONNECT
Aeryn gathers Talyn’s remains and lays the fragile bones as close to his mother’s heart as she can, but the hangar bay can never be close enough, and Moya moans, hollow in her grief.
“I thought there’d be more,” Chiana says.
Pilot knows Chiana’s nested in the shadows, but Aeryn startles when she speaks. Aeryn sinks – to her knees, back on her heels, into anger – her mouth a thin red line. There should be more, but she searched the debris field for arns and arns and found only these small pieces of Talyn, and nothing of Crais.
“Chiana, come here,” Aeryn says. She softens when the girl hesitates; her hand flutters over her abdomen, settles on her thigh. “Tell me about Talyn. About his birth.”
Chiana clambers down from her perch and closes the space between them, tilts her head to the side. She says, “You know…you know how Moya sometimes smells like a – a coin on your tongue?”
Aeryn knits her brows, then nods.
“Talyn smelled sweet,” Chiana says. “Like syrup on a spoon.”
Aeryn straightens her shoulders, her braid tumbling down her back, and lets Chiana’s nostalgia wash against her.
“He was warm,” Chiana says. “I thought it was gonna be too hot, in the vent, but it wasn’t. He was warm and bright and he – he shone.” She scuffs the toe of her boot against the floor and laughs, sudden and sharp. “I was scared he was gonna die.”
Moya’s ache thrums behind Pilot’s eyes, and Aeryn says, “Tell me.”
“Frell,” Chiana says, “I was a wellnitz.” But she crouches, a gloved finger tracing circles and lines Aeryn can’t decipher in the dust, in Talyn. “Pilot forced an atmosphere so – so I could breathe, and I knew Moya could breathe atmosphere, but I wasn’t sure if the narl could, or if he had to learn; and when I couldn’t cut the seam I was scared he’d suffocate, because I didn’t know what the frell I was doing.”
Aeryn traces her own line in the dust, rubs it out. “Chiana…”
“Yeah?”
“D’Argo told me you’re going to look for the Nebari Resistance.” She holds herself as close as she can. “Ask Crichton to go with you.”
Chiana’s eyes open wide. “No.”
Aeryn hadn’t expected that, but then she hadn’t expected to return to Moya, to find Crichton sleeping alone. “No? You don’t want him to?”
“I want him to,” Chiana says, and she shakes her hair, her shoulders. “I don’t want to hear him tell me all the reasons he can’t.” She stands, steps back into shadow. “He’ll never, never walk away from you, Aeryn. He loves you.”
Aeryn says, “I know.”
Word Count: 444
Rated: PG
Setting: DWTB
Characters: Aeryn Sun, Chiana
Summary: Under the seams runs the pain. - Anne Carson
Disclaimer: Farscape and its characters belong to The Jim Henson Company, and not to me.
Setting: DWTB.
Rating & Warnings: PG.
Thank You: Em,
olegscape , and olegscape for the feedback and much needed ego-boos.DISCONNECT
Aeryn gathers Talyn’s remains and lays the fragile bones as close to his mother’s heart as she can, but the hangar bay can never be close enough, and Moya moans, hollow in her grief.
“I thought there’d be more,” Chiana says.
Pilot knows Chiana’s nested in the shadows, but Aeryn startles when she speaks. Aeryn sinks – to her knees, back on her heels, into anger – her mouth a thin red line. There should be more, but she searched the debris field for arns and arns and found only these small pieces of Talyn, and nothing of Crais.
“Chiana, come here,” Aeryn says. She softens when the girl hesitates; her hand flutters over her abdomen, settles on her thigh. “Tell me about Talyn. About his birth.”
Chiana clambers down from her perch and closes the space between them, tilts her head to the side. She says, “You know…you know how Moya sometimes smells like a – a coin on your tongue?”
Aeryn knits her brows, then nods.
“Talyn smelled sweet,” Chiana says. “Like syrup on a spoon.”
Aeryn straightens her shoulders, her braid tumbling down her back, and lets Chiana’s nostalgia wash against her.
“He was warm,” Chiana says. “I thought it was gonna be too hot, in the vent, but it wasn’t. He was warm and bright and he – he shone.” She scuffs the toe of her boot against the floor and laughs, sudden and sharp. “I was scared he was gonna die.”
Moya’s ache thrums behind Pilot’s eyes, and Aeryn says, “Tell me.”
“Frell,” Chiana says, “I was a wellnitz.” But she crouches, a gloved finger tracing circles and lines Aeryn can’t decipher in the dust, in Talyn. “Pilot forced an atmosphere so – so I could breathe, and I knew Moya could breathe atmosphere, but I wasn’t sure if the narl could, or if he had to learn; and when I couldn’t cut the seam I was scared he’d suffocate, because I didn’t know what the frell I was doing.”
Aeryn traces her own line in the dust, rubs it out. “Chiana…”
“Yeah?”
“D’Argo told me you’re going to look for the Nebari Resistance.” She holds herself as close as she can. “Ask Crichton to go with you.”
Chiana’s eyes open wide. “No.”
Aeryn hadn’t expected that, but then she hadn’t expected to return to Moya, to find Crichton sleeping alone. “No? You don’t want him to?”
“I want him to,” Chiana says, and she shakes her hair, her shoulders. “I don’t want to hear him tell me all the reasons he can’t.” She stands, steps back into shadow. “He’ll never, never walk away from you, Aeryn. He loves you.”
Aeryn says, “I know.”
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no subject
Date: 2010-09-13 03:22 am (UTC)Personally, I am impressed with how quickly John forgave D'Argo in Revenging Angel. I know that, to a certain extent, D'Argo couldn't stop himself once he entered hyper-rage. But D'Argo's actions were still a huge breach of trust, and I don't think I could let something like that go as quickly as John did.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-13 04:56 pm (UTC)- D'Argo knocking John out and sending him back to Grayza to "take one for the team". John "volunteered" but it was reluctant at best, he also said no, and he was still wrapping his own mind around the fact that Grayza raped him. As his BFF D'Argo should have been looking out for him and should have thought of a different way. But he apparently subscribes to the whole unfortunate "A man can't be raped! Especially by a woman!" mentality.
- The way he randomly kicks DRDs and rips out Moya's innards when things aren't going his way. Though we wouldn't have had Talyn if D'Argo hadn't thrown that particular temper tantrum, and that led to a lot of great stories LOL.
- When he hits Noranti in the face and knocks her out merely for annoying him. As Sikozu said at the time, was that really necessary? No, it really wasn't.
- When he tells Jool on Arnessk that friends stand up for each other, no matter what...and then he does nothing in APM when the villagers are literally stoning Chiana, even after he knows for a fact that it's Sikozu, not Chi, messing with Zerbat.
- When he basically laughs in Jothee's face when Jothee tries to take out Scorpy-John. How he disregards all of Jothee's pain and doesn't see the man he is but the child he was, and wants to live in La La Land.
- The scoffing "How could she say no?!" when John tells him Chi might say no to marriage. Chiana was unequivocally 100% wrong for sleeping with Jothee but she was also right in that D'Argo wouldn't have listened to her had she used her words. Jothee/Chi was about them using each other to make D'Argo see them for who they are, not who he wanted them to be, not extensions of him, not his possessions. Much of his early relationship with Chiana makes me cringe, not that she was perfect.
I love his relationship with Aeryn and I think it's so good because they're both warriors and he doesn't view her the way he does the other women he interacts with. I think he's a misogynist bully. BUT I love him. They all have flaws and are terrible people in many respects. D'Argo's just push more of my buttons (the guitar playing with Pilot at the end of DNA Mad Scientist that makes most people awwwww? Makes me throw up in my mouth a little, having been hit and then made to listen to an instrumental apology with a smile on my face).
What makes it okay is that Anthony Simcoe is fully aware of D'Argo's flaws and knew he was often playing him as a bit of a bastard, even if many fans don't tweak to his behavior that reads like the "Are You Being Abused" warning list they post in hospital restrooms. Both Anthony and Gigi knew from the start that Chi/D'Argo was not meant to be and wouldn't last. I'm open to a reunion (and like D a lot better) post MAA because I feel that that was really an eye opener for him...."I could never" became "I could and I did." I believe he acknowledges not just what he did to Lolaan, but the role he played in the trainwreck that was his relationship with Chi (his "I prefer the elegant grey" in BHTB is as close as he can come to a verbal apology for not seeing her). And he tries. All I ask is that people try, and I can't hate him after that. Aren't you glad you asked? ;)
Ironically I used to hate-hate-HATE D'Argo and began loving him when a big D'Argo fan reached MAA and couldn't handle the revelations. I found myself in the position of explaining his behavior and it really opened my eyes and heart to the character.
With regards to the bigger discussion: for what it's worth, what was in Aeryn's head as I was writing her was a "friends with benefits" relationship, not a love affair :) And her urging Chi to ask John to go with her had two motives, making things easier in Aeryn's mind for herself and MJ, by separating them, and help/protection for Chiana.
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 12:43 am (UTC)D'Argo knocking John out and sending him back to Grayza to "take one for the team". John "volunteered" but it was reluctant at best, he also said no, and he was still wrapping his own mind around the fact that Grayza raped him.
One of the things I hate about season 4 is how no one in-universe seems to "get" what happened to John. I don't know if it's because they are alien and have a different view of rape...? Except that Chiana seemed quite shook up by her own rape, so at least one alien culture sees it as a horrendous act. Why does everyone see it as no big deal when it happens to John?
Much of his early relationship with Chiana makes me cringe, not that she was perfect.
Their whole relationship confuses me. I think they are so wrong for each other...not that their relationship doesn't have its cute moments, but I'm glad it ended and it should have stayed that way.
The way he randomly kicks DRDs and rips out Moya's innards when things aren't going his way.
I've noticed that Pilot and Moya rarely speak up when this happens (or, at least, not every time). Maybe Moya is big enough that she doesn't feel all of that, but Pilot is watching through the DRDs. I never understood why he didn't decide enough was enough and...I don't know what he would have done about it, exactly, but at the very least tell him it was unacceptable to abuse Moya and the DRDs that way.
(the guitar playing with Pilot at the end of DNA Mad Scientist that makes most people awwwww? Makes me throw up in my mouth a little, having been hit and then made to listen to an instrumental apology with a smile on my face).
Oh, I HATED that. What a pathetic attempt at an apology. I chalked it up to D'Argo being an alien warrior with bizarre ideas about forgiveness, but in actuality he didn't even follow his own morals with Pilot. In RA, D'Argo offered John a chance to take revenge on him...where was Pilot's chance?
With regards to the bigger discussion: for what it's worth, what was in Aeryn's head as I was writing her was a "friends with benefits" relationship, not a love affair :)
Thanks for the clarification :)
no subject
Date: 2010-09-14 08:17 am (UTC)Rebecca Riggs has said Grayza has no concept of rape and believed she was indeed offering Crichton a better option and giving him better treatment that Scorpius did, and I can believe that, the first time. But he tried to stab her, didn't he? I would think that would give her a moment's pause and contemplation, even if she saw no reason to change her methods.
It's possible PKs don't share our understanding of rape or process it in the same way, but as you point out, it's obvious Chiana does. Aeryn didn't know until WSS (and even then I don't know if she understands) but I find it odd that both D'Argo and Sikozu don't care...I do like the little things with Chiana, like how she's the only one that can initiate touch without him flinching for awhile, but I wanted more.
The show had too many balls in the air and didn't devote the proper time and attention to the storyline. I LOVE S4 but in some ways it is a mess. Not as tight as it could or should be and things fall by the wayside. Almost everything we get regarding the rapes comes from Gigi and Ben. The writing barely touches it. I don't know why and I used to be okay with it because it was still the most realistic treatment of the subject I'd seen on tv, but then I watched The Shield which has a male character raped and their writing is so flawless, unflinchingly honest and brave that Farscape's efforts now leave me disappointed. I think the most sophisticated storytelling we get from the writers is Coup By Clam, when they have scenes of John dressed as a woman being accosted by the creep juxtaposed with Chiana accosting the girl-pretending-to-be-a-boy tech on Moya in a sexually charged manner.
There are tiny moments for both of them in Lava, Chi's got small bits in TS and APM...then there's Kansas, which is beautiful (http://www.televisionwithoutpity.com/show/farscape/kansas.php?page=9)...but it's not enough to do the characters and storylines justice.
I think they are so wrong for each other.
Agreed. Like I said, I'm okay with a reunion post MAA, but I don't think that would have lasted either. It may have ended more amicably than the first go around, but they are not J&A and they are not capable of living happily ever after, nor should they try to.
Anth has a hilarious statement in one of the official guides about D'Argo being a "planet slut" and he and Chi are alike that way...but when they get together D'Argo moves past that and decides he wants to settle down. But he never asks her if that's what she wants too, and is so wrapped up in his own dreams and desires he can't observe it for himself. JOHN knows she wouldn't be interested, but it doesn't enter D'Argo's head.
Allegedly there were a bunch of Chi/D'Argo scenes cut from Picture If You Will that would have given a much better foundation to and understanding of their relationship. I believe it was Chiana's first "real" relationship and she didn't know what the hell she was doing.
I don't know what he would have done about it, exactly, but at the very least tell him it was unacceptable to abuse Moya and the DRDs that way.
I wished he would shoot D'Argo out an airlock now and then...hey, he can survive 15 minutes and it would get his attention ;) I think there's an element of oh, that's just how D'Argo is, he can't control it (which is a lie, he may not be able to control it once he enters true hyper rage, but everything up to that point is a choice) and I think the others don't say anything because they don't want to get yelled at or threatened. Look at Jool's cowering meek little "Are you going to kill me?" in RA. And he pushes Chi in that episode too. I've seen people say she deserved the shove she got in SAL and the shaking in APM, but what's the excuse there? And now I'm rambling LOL
Oh, I HATED that.
Woo! I think you're the first fan who hasn't said "Oh, I thought that was sweet". I've known people to change their minds, but no one who didn't like it initially ;)