Husk and Howl

Fanfiction
Title:	Husk and Howl
Author(s):	MyDoranda
Date(s):	February 15, 2018 (posted as "Howl"), title changed to "Husk and Howl" on August 16, 2018
Length:	40,000 words
Genre:	gen
Fandom:	Stargate Atlantis
External Links:	on Archive of Our Own
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Husk and Howl is a gen Stargate Atlantis fic by MyDoranda.

Author's Summary

Everyone’s disaster has a backstory.

Rodney’s had involved someone tugging on his arm. “You’re a scientist," she’d said. “Are you not curious about this?”

Well, of course.

Because Rodney had been both of those things.

Chapters

• Chapter One: Planet
• Chapter Two: Atlantis
• Chapter Three: Documentation, Reports, and Transcripts

Reactions and Reviews

2018: Stargate Fic Recommendations

Why This Must Be Read: This fic is a hard read but ultimately a very worthwhile one. Rodney is captured off-world, presumed dead by his team, and forced to work as a slave. There's a lot of SGA stories that are similar and I've honestly probably read all of them because this is a particular favourite trope of mine. What elevates this one though, is the way the recovery and rescue are handled.

There's no quick fix in this fic and the gamut of emotions and reactions are startlingly real and just wonderfully imagined.

The tags and warnings are there for a reason but it is ultimately a hopeful fic and the worst things happen offstage. I really hope more people read it because I loved it and the author deserves a wider audience.

why this should be read: This is a powerful fic. Heed the tags, it's not for everyone but the way MyDoranda has approached it is so unique and it deserves to be read.

2018: AO3

[emeraldteal]: I enjoyed this story very much. I do love the details you've put in Chapter 3, that must have been a while to plan out! Awesome. Thanks for sharing. ♡

[respoftw]:

This was a very hard fic to read but beautifully executed. My heart broke for Rodney throughout. You did a really, really wonderful job with this subject matter, every reaction was so true and believable.

[reply]: It was a hard fic to write at times, too. There are a lot of ways to write about these subject matters, and I'm glad you felt this one to be emotionally believable.

[jenasus]:

Wow! Thanks so much for this story. Loved your idea for a chapter of reports. It gave a wonderful background dimension to Rodney's point of view. I would love to read more of your stories!

[reply]: You're welcome! I wanted the first two chapters to be Rodney's story, ones he didn't have to "share" with anyone else. I wanted the reader to feel the isolation and dislocation he felt upon his return to Atlantis. I wanted his quarters to feel claustrophobic, and that his "re-entry" after his rescue to be like a hyperbaric chamber, rising a little bit to the surface inch by inch. But I also wanted to show that even alone, he was surrounded by friends. And paperwork! That nothing happens in a vacuum, and there's always more going on than meets the eye.

[eivac]:

I have no frame of reference how someone lives through and recovers from a brainwashed slavery but this writing gave me a small taste of what it could have been.

It is amazing and thanks for sharing.

[reply]: I know there's a lot of ways to tell a story like this, that this is only one of the ways. I'm glad you read it, and I'm glad to have shared!

[mific]:

This was gruelling, but was bearable to read as it wasn’t unduly explicit, and it was very well written, especially the inclusion of the documentation section. I found it a very accurate portrayal of the afternath of abduction, torture and abuse. While Rodney’s story is of course central, and alongside his, glimpses of how awful it was for John, Carson, and his other friends, I especially liked the worldbuilding you did with this terribly dysfunctional society, and of how Atlantis, in deciding to intervene as they found the slave labour camps intolerable, made things better for a few but far worse for many. Thanks for writing such a thought-provoking story.

[reply]: My choice to not make things explicit felt like the right one for this particular story.

The documentation was a challenge to write. I read a lot of examples of paperwork on a wide variety of topics to get the feel and flow of them. I wanted them to support the story and tell aspects that Rodney couldn't. He's a smart guy, and in other situations, would be very aware of all that was going on on a different level. But for him, at that point, it was all he could do was to get up every morning and make it to the end of the day. I hope that the paperwork added that juxtaposition, as well as some intrigue, to a bigger, far more complex reality.

And paperwork! It's the military, of course, there's scads of paperwork. :) And paperwork can tell a story in complicated ways -- the back and forth, the ebb and flo, and the minutia of it is beautiful and tedious and everything in-between.

I also wanted to make it very clear that even when Rodney felt alone, he wasn't. The people around Rodney used methods that touched on issues of privacy and agency, and there were uncomfortable aspects. But the fic, I hope, also illustrates the desperation to keep someone safe and choosing to use unorthodox methods to do so. After all, they are in another galaxy, and in many ways, they are making it up as they go along. Does the means justify the ends? Every reader will have their own opinion...

As for the people on the planet, I wanted to portray all the complexities of different cultures and what are some things that can happen when they come into contact with each other: power imbalances, good intentions, misunderstandings, colonialism, mistakes, when to intervene when one group of people are confronted with an intolerable situation, moral and ethical dilemmas, agency, petty greed and insecurities, and the messiness of "exploration."

Thank you for your comments, and thank you for reading my story.

[Amalthia]: I felt so bad for Rodney in your story and I'm glad he was rescued. The recovery felt real.

[emeraldteal]:

I enjoyed this story very much. I do love the details you've put in Chapter 3, that must have been a while to plan out! Awesome. Thanks for sharing. ♡

[reply]: I'm glad you enjoyed the story. Chapter three was a tricky one: all those details, making sure the story elements lined up, telling another part of the story in subtle ways, and all that html coding! All three chapters were a challenge to write, and I'm happy to have shared it.

[Deconblus]: Stargate Atlantis has the most intelligent and intellectually thoughtful fanfics. This is an example. And take lots of time w the 3rd chapter, it's worth the effort.

[anonymous]: wow this is like, really impressive, because the Dullness, the complete shift of priorities and not even being able to feel anything, and then the slow return of feelings, its like reliving my depression and the (ongoing) recovery. i don't know if you were going for that, but anyways, wow. i hope rodney will do science again because i'll be quite sad if he doesn't.

[Pashiradoki_83]:

This was really well done and a good read despite having my heart ripped out and crushed. I think part of me broke when Rodney did.

Thank you so much for commenting.

Rodney broke, but he's strong, and has good support and friends. I think that this is ultimately, for Rodney, a hopeful ending.

[Deconblus]:

This is brilliant! So hard to read, it must have been even harder to write. And the interview transcripts in the last chapter, they were a real tour de force - all those different voices/perspectives. Thank you for your efforts.

The transcripts were some of my favorite parts to write, and my efforts were mighty! There's a lot of moving parts in this whole thing, and I hope I conveyed how complicated this story was.

[anonymous]:

woah!!! that was totally different from what i was expecting, but !!! that paperwork !!! that's such a cool form to write this story (those interviews with the people! that terse statement from rodney! that memo from the military about (redacted)!!!) i also like that rodney was ultimately reinstated as head of science. that's good to know and a hopeful ending!

I hope it was different in a good way! I meant the story to be a "happy ending." Despite the foreshadowing of military intervention and all its [redactions], in my heart, Rodney and his team will overcome.

[AlephNullCats]: Not only is this a great story that I read with pleasure, I also have to admit that the last chapter blew my mind - the patience required to write and style it had to be tremendous. Great effect. Really loved it!

[McKennaSevrin]: Wow. Well done and I rather like how you ended it. Please write more. :)

2019: AO3

[wedgewood]:

Such a unique and creative endeavor. It was painful and difficult to read at times, but gladly it all wrapped up with RM conquering the severe mental health issues associated with his traumatic events. Believable enough that it is obvious you must have either studied mental health issues extensively, or you have experienced them personally. A serious and well crafted read.

I've neither studied or experienced things like that, but I pay attention, and I'm a good listener.