Title: freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose
Author: synecdochic
Rating: Unrated. T?
Genre: Drama
Status: Oneshot
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairings: McKay/Shepard
Summary: Because the meaning of life is "do the next thing", and we all carry the seeds of the past into our future. Futurefic, Rodney-centric.
Link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6335230

This is one of those 'classic' fics that I'm actually surprised hasn't been in the library. I certainly think it's worth being there but who knows. It was originally posted on livejournal, bounced around from archive to archive then it was finally posted on AO3, which I'm linking here.

This is an AU!post-series fic where Rodney McKay has left the Stargate program and settled down as a university professor. It's fairly light on any sort of action but I really like how he transfers his experiences to the classroom and is able to (somewhat unintentionally) inspire a new generation of students.

The story covers his reintegration into academia (somewhat successful), into society (somewhat less so), and dealing with the fallout of leaving the SG program (the military is reluctant to let him go entirely, natch). Overall I really like how it progresses through, with the only pitfall being a relatively lacklustre ending. There is a semi-sequel which covers a time period about a decade after this fic, but even that is fairly brief.

There is a brief mention of a slash pairing, which the author mentioned as being the nail that made this AU, though IMO it's not really relevant to the story as a whole and can be completely disregarded if you've a mind to do so.

I would easily rate this a 4/5, simply because this is one of those stories I really like which involves outsider perspectives (of a sort).


This oneshot is part 1 of the series "Freedom's just another Word"

 

4/5

Its a good character piece, the sequel has enough action to give some tension, and the first half is a good procedural teaching drama. I enjoyed it.

 

This pretty old. I think I read it somewhere else. I think it aged pretty well and I still like it. Slash is easy to disregard and its sequel is pretty nice too.

I think it is library worthy 4/5.