Coffee Rolls

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[info]lalejandra: my 10 am meeting was pushed back to 11 am & then to 230. how is this a logical course of events?SIGH. She's all, "Let's meet at 230" and I am all, BUT OUR MEETING WAS SCHEDULED FOR 10!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!
Now I am resigned to listening to Dido.

[info]serialkarma: i'm sorry. no one should be resigned to listening to dido

[info]lalejandra: Which, by the way, sometimes McKay listens to, because her voice is very clean, and it is NOT because he used to watch Roswell and the song, that one song, is an earworm.

[info]serialkarma: of course. and mckay sometimes has to put up with john calling him a 13-year-old girl, because that's just no excuse

[info]lalejandra: But John really doesn't understand the intricacies of being a musician.
And how sometimes you have to appreciate someone's musical talent, even when it's used for evil.

[info]serialkarma: because that guitar really is just for show

[info]lalejandra: John plays what Rodney calls "Surfer Guitar" -- which is to say that he knows all the beach boys songs. Nevermind that John knows all the Smiths songs, not the Beach Boys songs -- the point remains valid, that he learned it all just to impress girls.

[info]serialkarma: which is a perfectly valid reason for learning the guitar, as anyone in a rock band will tell you, which is what john tells rodney every time they get into this argument. Also, it works.

[info]lalejandra: But Rodney thinks this is akin to learning Spanish by watching Telemundo, at which point Ronon always inserts his two cents by rumbling, "That works too" and McKay just glares.

[info]serialkarma: Rodney believes--obviously--that there is a RIGHT way to do things and a WRONG way, and John and Ronon--who believe in doing whatever works--never, ever ever get tired of winding him up

[info]lalejandra: Of course -- and Ronon doesn't tell John this -- Ronon always brings Rodney a cup of coffee or a doughnut afterward, because it never does serve anyone's best interests to have the managing editor angry with you.

[info]serialkarma: and Rodney never tells John that Ronon does this, because that way he can continue to abuse John and be justified in doing so.

[info]lalejandra: Not to mention -- free doughnuts!

[info]serialkarma: because Rodney is NOT a moron!

[info]lalejandra: Rodney's favorite is the coffee roll, which is technically not a doughnut, but he knows when to keep his mouth shut.

[info]serialkarma: besides, it's PASTRY and COFFEE together in one delicious package. It doesn't get any better than that, who cares what it's called?

[info]lalejandra: Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee OMG.
Poor Rodney.
I wish I knew what his motivation in life was.
I think he's really happy where he is.

[info]serialkarma: doughnuts and unilateral authority to abuse people?

[info]lalejandra: Rodney loves Atlantis and loves his job. It's the most perfect thing he could ever do.
Exactly.

[info]serialkarma: i mean, really, what more can we ask from life? Rodney is the human equivalent of a domestic house cat in the publishing verse

[info]lalejandra: No one will ever be better or smarter than him, while at the same time he is always expanding his boundaries.
I think if I wrote Rodney's story, it would be called "I Can Expand My Universe Without You" and probably Rodney would be the only one who didn't end up setting up house with someone, you know? He'll sleep around forever, until he gets old and has a houseboy or something
Ronon and John both seemed to secretly want some kind of Harlequinized happy ending, whereas Rodney.... does not.

[info]serialkarma: i was kind of thinking the same thing. I mean, rodney doesn't NEED anyone else, not in this story.

[info]lalejandra: Exactly.
He is a whole person
Whereas John and Ronon? Clearly not whole people.

[info]serialkarma: Right!

[info]lalejandra: They have Sartre holes!

[info]serialkarma: I LOVE THAT.
and it's so true
Rodney, however, has no holes. He is holesome.

[info]lalejandra: And I can just see Rodney sniffing. "Please," he says, "I am not one of the masses." He waves a hand at his door, although really he's thinking of John and Ronon. "I am the housecat in this situation. I get all the cream and mice I want, and the best spot on the bed.
hee

[info]serialkarma: this is why we love Rodney!

[info]lalejandra: True enough
But I thinkthat's what makes him hard to write, and it's also what makes me not really believe Rodney/John, I guess.

[info]serialkarma: but yes, I see that
i believe rodney/john the way you've got them here, i.e., a fuckbuddies kind of thing, but yeah. that wasn't going to work for john in the long run, obviously!

[info]lalejandra: John is so neeeeedy.
And I don't see Rodney EVER having the patience for that.

[info]serialkarma: I don't see rodney really even recognizing it

[info]lalejandra: What do you mean?
Like he just realizes that he and John are not MFEO and moves on?

[info]serialkarma: like he thinks he and john are having a good time and hanging out and doesn't necessarily see that--okay, I don't know, suddenly that makes john sound desperately pathetic and he kind of is, but not THAT much. I don't know what I'm talking about anymore! Maybe Rodney is not that oblivious

[info]lalejandra: I don't think Rodney is oblivious. I think he sees people the same way he sees language -- it's very easy to get from the italian word for friend ("compare"!) to goombah, if you're paying attention to regional pronunciation! hee, we had that conversation, right? so Rodney sees John as being kind of pathetic, one of those men who, in middle age, suddenly realizes that he needs people, and maybe Rodney is disappointed that he is not the person John needs, because who wouldn't want someone who's pretty hot and talented wanting them? However, Rodney doesn't have the patience for John's neediness ,and never did, and truly appreciates Ronon for showing up (but ohhhhh, how Rodney would have liked to test-drive Ronon before John got his claws into him!), and at least John's not going to be the cliche or the older man with the younger girl. Rodney can appreciate that John's got a younger man.
Um. I might be too invested in this.
Anyway, it's weird, too, because Rodney actually expected that John's neediness was going to turn everyone off, and that he and John would be alone -- rodney cheerful, John bitter -- for the rest of their lives.

[info]serialkarma: hahahaha, no, I LOVE it. It also makes total sense. and no, we didn't have the goombah conversation, but that, too, is obvious when you think about it. and, uh, I suppose if you know anything about linguistics

[info]lalejandra: But apparently Ronon needs to be needed, or something -- now Rodney's moving out of his comfort zone of practical logic, and into psychology, which is a load of bunk.
Heeeeeeee. excellent!
Rodney is sincerely pleased that he makes sense. *g *

[info]serialkarma: Rodney deserves a doughnut and a cup of coffee

[info]lalejandra: Yeah, but I think maybe I'll hijack the delivery boy and take it all for myself.

[info]serialkarma: because that's how you roll?

[info]lalejandra: The problem with not writing a story based around a romantic relationship is that there is no structure, and therefore I need a PLOT.
Listen, don't make fun of how I roll (coffee roll?) or I'll CUT YOU!

[info]serialkarma: yeah, we tried that, it didn't work

[info]lalejandra: * menaces*

[info]serialkarma: *dies *















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