BSG ficlet: Atlas

[hmpf]

Enjoy it while it lasts; this is very probably the only BSG fic I'm ever going to write. The show doesn't give me many bunnies. Oh, and can anyone recommend me a good BSG community and/or archive to post this to?


Disclaimer: I don't own them. The people at Sci-Fi do.

Thanks: to beccatoria for beta reading.

Timeline: beginning of season one.

Website: http://www.allabouthmpf.com/atlas.htm


Atlas

He carries the weight of the world on his shoulders.

He is grey, solid. A relic like his ship's outdated navigational systems, an island like its non-networked computers. Tough enough to be obeyed at no more than a whisper.

He rarely does more than that. Whisper, murmur, a low rumble from the depths of his chest. Conserving energy. Or maybe he simply detests authority that relies on volume.

His authority is in the set of his shoulders, the thought behind his glasses.

He is military, and she has never trusted the military.

She trusts him.

*

She carries the weight of the world on her shoulders.

She is slender, flexible, unbreaking like a reed. Where there is no hope, she makes hope.

She, neither, needs to raise her voice. She speaks with a smile that says 'I will prevail'. And does.

Nothing to do with power. Everything to do with what is right.

She is a politician, and he has never trusted politicians.

He trusts her.

*

She does not command. He does not obey. He listens. Then goes and does as she says.

This is how they carry the weight of the world.

Comments

[kernezelda]

Very nicely done. I like the way you ground character with physicality.

[bimo.livejournal.com]

Set in a magic realm between short story and poem. Beautiful, sad. Conveying strength and fragility, both at the same time.

I'm having goosebumps though here on our garden terrace it's about 28 °C ;-)

[selenak.livejournal.com]

It captures these two perfectly. A lovely bit of writing.

Thanks.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

His physicality is one of the main things that really strikes me about Adama, so it *had* to sneak into this ficlet. ;-)

Hmpf: better than air conditioning! ;-)

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

>Set in a magic realm between short story and poem.

Like some of *your* recent ficlets! :-)

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

That was lovely.

Thanks!

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

Hey. I owe you some feedback for... something offline... ;-) I'm just so bad at this kind of thing...

Thanks!

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

See... and that took me two years. Not two years of *actual* writing, of course. Most of it was done in one evening in late 2004. And then I hit a wall and the wall didn't budge, nor could I find a way around it until last week or so. When I realised that the wall was actually the end of the story, and that I couldn't see how to continue it because it was *done*. Took me two years of fiddling with it to realise. And *that's* why I'm Hmpf MacSlow. *g*

Re: Thanks!

[ithildyn.livejournal.com]

We need some sort of virtual dynamite for those damn walls!

[magnifica7.livejournal.com]

Truly stunning! Beautiful and powerful!

I can so see them when reading this! :)

[beccatoria.livejournal.com]

Dude, you *know* I like it. This version is great. I agree that the touches of physical description really ground the piece, and that's significant considering it's brevity.

TBRFKASK.
/needs President Roslin icon.

Thank you!

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

Glad you enjoyed it. Hmm... this reminds me that I should probably get around to editing 'Morgenstund' so I could finally post it sometime...

Yeah, I like this version, too.

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

The previous was sort of fueled by significant amounts of 'meh, can't be bothered', and it showed. ;-)

Hmpf
/needs a Glasses of Command icon.

Re: Thanks!

[hmpf.livejournal.com]

Dynamite? In my brain? Hmm... maybe not. I've researched brain damage for a fic recently... ;-)

[chasarumba.livejournal.com]

I know the physicality has already been mentioned, so I'm being somewhat unoriginal when I say that it makes this a very lovely ficlet :) It's the contrast between the two that's especially nice, then the way they're tied by the weight they carry.