It's a new dawn, a new day ([info]birdsflying) wrote in [info]sga_flashfic,
2005-11-25 11:36:00
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  • Mood: geeky
  • Music: Bloc Party - Little Thoughts

C8H10N4O2 by Megolas [School Challenge]

Title: C8H10N4O2
Author: [info]birdsflying
Characters: Rodney
Rating: G
Genre: Character study
Summary: 'his urge to eat their heads mellowed slightly if they sacrificed two cups of freshly brewed Blue Mountain to him before they pleaded their cases'
Notes: C8H10N4O2, as every good geek knows, is the molecular structure for the blessed liquid we call coffee - clearly I hadn't had enough this morning, it's the structure of *caffeine*. Mmm, Coffee Caffeine. My first completed SG:A fic, written in between editing my dissertation proposal. I find that sacrificial coffee works wonders on my supervisor. Many thanks to [info]burntcopper, [info]theantimodel and [info]viva_gloria for the betas. Any mistakes are my own. [info]anatsuno for finally breaking the title block.


When Rodney was in high school, his caffeine intake barely made his hands shake and seeing the sun rising was more acceptable than seeing it set. His parents had all but given up on lecturing him about turning night into day and he hadn't seen his bed for over a month. He'd even learnt the art of successfully avoiding QWERTY face and sleeping in his computer chair didn't make his back hurt.

He was young, thought himself invincible and wore a shirt that said 'Caffeine inside' until it got up and walked.

---

When Rodney was an undergraduate, his caffeine intake gave him 'the shakes' but he figured that they were still better than the stomach cramps he got when, god forbid, he didn't drink it. He still saw the sun rising more often than not and even, no thanks to the inhuman undergrad timetable, saw while it was still high in the sky. He firmly believed that 9am lectures were the sign of a sick mind and that if he started teaching, he was never, ever, ever going to teach at that hour.

He could still sleep in a computer chair but it wasn't as easy and now that he had access to a lab, a cot was far better.

---

When Rodney was working on his masters, he never saw the daylight if he could help it, preferring the harsh lights of the lab or the soothing flicker of his computer screens. He swore that the flickering light of the screen triggered a steady drip of serotonin and caught a couple of hours' sleep bathed in the pale blue light while his coffee pot kept up a steady drip-drip-drip of brown gold.

One of his lab mates likened caffeine withdrawal to the medical textbook description of heroin withdrawal and Rodney swore he was never going to find out, even if he did get heart palpitations after his 35th cup of the day.

---

When Rodney was two doctorates down, and anything less than four cups after he woke up meant he was all but useless for the rest of the day, the more cunning of his students curried favour and reduced their exposure to his blistering putdowns by bringing him coffee along with their theses and reports.

Rodney found his urge to eat their heads mellowed slightly if they sacrificed two cups of freshly brewed Blue Mountain to him before they pleaded their cases. It never worked at their theses defence but those that brought him the coffee still retained more skin when they finally stumbled out than those who didn't, like some small part of Rodney's hindbrain spared them an inch.

---


When Rodney was in Atlantis, he found that he was no longer capable of sleeping comfortably in anything other than his bed and that his spine made the most godawful noises every time he slept in the labs. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen the sun rise *or* set, in between the keeping everyone else alive or, rather than being invincible, running for his life.

As the coffee supply slowly dwindled, he also found that his old lab mate had been correct and he had, in fact, actually shed tears of joy when the Daedalus arrived with new supplies of all the important things, like coffee and wasn't ashamed to admit it as even Kavanagh had been briefly human after the first six cups.

And if he had the chance, he wouldn't change a thing.
Tags: author: birdsflying, challenge: school

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  • 52 comments

[info]bobberina

November 25 2005, 11:44:36 UTC 6 years ago

QWERTY face. Brilliant!

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:01:43 UTC 6 years ago

Avoiding QWERTY face is sadly a skill I never managed. I still wake up with keyboard imprint (and on a few occasions, the keys...) on my face.

Glad you liked!

[info]iamsab

November 25 2005, 11:55:18 UTC 6 years ago

powered by coffee

I love this! It makes me feel all warm and rodney inside. Mmmm.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:02:32 UTC 6 years ago

Re: powered by coffee

Glee! Thank you. :)

[info]toniabarone

November 25 2005, 12:22:15 UTC 6 years ago

*L* Aw. lovely look into Rodney's vice. Perfect, even. Thanks for this. *snerk* Loved that his students brought him coffee-offerings. Heh.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:04:56 UTC 6 years ago

I am ever so glad you liked! The sacrificial coffee really does work on supervisors, especially if you're a tech or hard science student. My sup is living proof. (and they say fanfic never teaches you anything...:g:)

[info]oxoniensis

November 25 2005, 12:24:15 UTC 6 years ago

Ah, yes! This is so perfectly Rodney!

*wanders off to put another pot of coffee on*

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:06:50 UTC 6 years ago

Hoorah. Thank you!

And yes, more coffeeeeeee. :does same:

[info]torakowalski

November 25 2005, 12:46:28 UTC 6 years ago

Mmm, coffee...

Lovely. Totally Rodney.

Also: He firmly believed that 9am lectures were the sign of a sick mind Totally agree :)

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:08:02 UTC 6 years ago

9am lectures are *evil*. I had *three* in the first year of my undergrad. I'm now thankfully down to one.

So glad you liked. :)

[info]kyrdwyn

6 years ago

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[info]birdsflying

6 years ago

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[info]kyrdwyn

6 years ago

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[info]hotels_inthesea

November 25 2005, 13:02:28 UTC 6 years ago

ohhh yeah. Rodney/coffee slash. *sings* He just can't get enough! He just can't get enough!

*cough*
sorry. your fic makes me all silly.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:09:48 UTC 6 years ago

Hee! Coffee and Rodney is truely the ultimate OTP.

[info]viva_gloria

November 25 2005, 13:08:35 UTC 6 years ago

your title rocks!
theirloveissocaffeinated

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:11:08 UTC 6 years ago

The love of Rodney and C8h10n4o2 is a love that will last the years. :g:

[info]spubba

November 25 2005, 14:33:33 UTC 6 years ago

Rodney + caffeine = OTP!

yay!

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 15:11:49 UTC 6 years ago

Re: Rodney + caffeine = OTP!

Yay back! I love your icon so very very much. :g:

[info]ladyflowdi

November 25 2005, 15:41:29 UTC 6 years ago

I loved this. As an AVID coffee drinker I share Rodney's love and pain! Heeee!! Offerings to the coffee God!! Hindbrain! QWERTY face! Oh, this made my morning. Great job :)

Best line?


One of his lab mates likened caffeine withdrawal to the medical textbook description of heroin withdrawal and Rodney swore he was never going to find out, even if he did get heart palpitations after his 35th cup of the day.

More caffeine than blood, baybeee. ::sips her first cup of coffee, mmmm::

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 16:11:00 UTC 6 years ago

Hooray! So glad you liked!

I can actually vouch for the medical textbook thing. I used to drink inhuman amounts, cumulating in my 20/30 a day habit when I was a chef (probably the only one in the kitchen on something legal!) and when I went cold turkey off that, it was...unbelievable. That's the closest I'm ever getting to dependance/withdrawal in my life again.

Now I'm on daily limit of five but I figure my blood stream is still more caffeine than anything else anyway. :g:

[info]slashygood

November 25 2005, 16:26:52 UTC 6 years ago

As a highly caffeinated undergrad, I'm now midly terrified of what will happen to me in a few years. :D Thanks for this, it's a great insight into Rodney's true love.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:29:51 UTC 6 years ago

As a fellow caffeinated undergrad, I say - embrace the future! I certainly have! :g: Glad you liked.

[info]laceymcbain

November 25 2005, 16:31:29 UTC 6 years ago

coffee

wasn't ashamed to admit it as even Kavanagh had been briefly human after the first six cups.

*G* That's damn fine coffee! *G*

Rodney loves his coffee and we love our Rodney. This was great.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:32:42 UTC 6 years ago

Re: coffee

Thank you!

I figure that anyone would be briefly human after six cups of really good coffee. I'm seeing Blue Mountain coffee here. :g:

(I just totally misread your icon as: I am Caffienated. Can't imagine *why*...)

[info]ekaterinn

November 25 2005, 16:32:28 UTC 6 years ago

*loves* Wonderfully Rodney. Since I was up late last night working on a paper and drinking coffee, I know exactly how he feels!

He firmly believed that 9am lectures were the sign of a sick mind

Oh god yes. I'm teaching a 9:30 AM tutorial this year and it's defintely not good.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:35:58 UTC 6 years ago

I am glad you liked! I pull similar stunts far too often to be healthy.

I dread the idea of having to teach at that hour in my future as it's standard practise at my uni to schedule the new lecturers and the freshers with 9am classes because everyone else has gone through that particular baptism of fire. :g:

[info]elvinborn

November 25 2005, 16:39:25 UTC 6 years ago

loved this! I like the way it's patterned. and I loved the bit about the students sacrificing coffee to him when turning in work.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:37:21 UTC 6 years ago

Hooray. Thank you!

The sacrifical coffee trick really does pay off.

[info]mirabile_dictu

November 25 2005, 16:49:00 UTC 6 years ago

I love this -- the structure, the voice, and the vice, which is one I share. Thank you!

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:38:30 UTC 6 years ago

Yay, I am so glad you liked it.

I think coffee is a vice that most of fandom shares. We may well keep the coffee market up.

[info]springwoof

November 25 2005, 16:55:13 UTC 6 years ago

Very cute! Liked Rodney's unique survival strategies: "He'd even learnt the art of successfully avoiding QWERTY face" *grin*
wags, springwoof

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 17:39:29 UTC 6 years ago

Hoorah, thank you!

Sadly, I still wake up with qwerty face on a far too regular basis.

[info]permetaform

November 25 2005, 18:27:14 UTC 6 years ago

eee, this is *nice*

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 19:34:03 UTC 6 years ago

Yay, thank you. :)

[info]npkedit

November 25 2005, 18:31:30 UTC 6 years ago

Thought this was wonderful and totally in character. I myself have never given into the evils of coffee (get my caffeine shakes and withdrawal from diet soda), but will always smile at the memory of 2nd semester advanced calc (at the evil hour of 8am), where nearly everyone (including the professor) had a coffee cup on the corner of their desk.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 19:36:55 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it.

And I know that situation only too well - my only 9am this year involves Computer Law and what may actually be the gross national product of a small South American coffee growing country. :g:

[info]cynicalcylon

November 25 2005, 20:12:31 UTC 6 years ago

Soo...following on from a theory Heather had (& that I whole-heartedly agree with!) that you are actually McKay as a female, what stage are you currently at? :eg:

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 22:06:28 UTC 6 years ago

Heh. I've probably gone past McKay in in this fic as I've done the full on caffeine withdrawal and now have a strict doctor's orders absolute maximum of 5 cups a day thing due to my clinical addiction. Mostly I survive on 1.

[info]fairestcat

November 25 2005, 20:19:34 UTC 6 years ago

HEE, I am so right with Rodney for all of this, especially the view of 9am lectures.

Nice story.

[info]birdsflying

November 25 2005, 22:07:34 UTC 6 years ago

9am lectures are the work of the devil. Yeap. They should be banned under the geneva convention.

Glad you liked!

[info]cybersyd

November 26 2005, 09:31:14 UTC 6 years ago

QWERTY face, hah! I can see Rodney stumbling into a briefing or a lecture more than once with that. Lovely fic.

[info]birdsflying

November 26 2005, 11:32:23 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you! I'm glad you liked it. :)

[info]melagan

November 26 2005, 22:30:01 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you ( from someone who is working on their second pot at 10 am and watching the clock so that they can start a third pot at noon - to separate morning coffee from afternoon coffee of course)

[info]birdsflying

November 27 2005, 07:42:58 UTC 6 years ago

Glad you liked! And heh, 6pm for the evening pot?

[info]celli

November 27 2005, 04:48:14 UTC 6 years ago

*grins* That's cool.

[info]birdsflying

November 27 2005, 07:43:18 UTC 6 years ago

Thank you. :)

[info]raucousraven

November 27 2005, 06:40:05 UTC 6 years ago

QWERTY face! *dies laughing* Oh Rodney, how I nubs you. And I'll hook a line from someone else and say they might as well mainline caffeine into my system now, as I'm at the bottom (or top) of my term-long codependent cycle, and me=wildly flailing incoherence. But me+coffee = actual thought, with sentences.

[info]birdsflying

November 27 2005, 07:44:15 UTC 6 years ago

I'm glad you liked it!

I think most of fandom has a long running otp with caffeine and coherence. :g:

[info]nindulgence

November 28 2005, 16:25:56 UTC 6 years ago

Chiming in with all the chortling over QWERTY face...

Thanks for writing!

~

[info]birdsflying

November 28 2005, 16:43:31 UTC 6 years ago

And thank you for commenting. :) I'm glad you liked it.

[info]summertea

May 16 2007, 21:19:12 UTC 5 years ago

He firmly believed that 9am lectures were the sign of a sick mind

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