fic rec & fan art (SGA *surprised gasps in the auditorium*)

Fic rec:
Rebuilding Babel by the_drifter (fiercelydreamed)
Summary: He wondered if this was how it felt to go crazy -- you didn't lose your mind, it just stopped synching up with the world around you. The Pegasus galaxy makes Rodney an expert in what he can survive without.
21,000 words, Sheppard/McKay [story is for the most part gen, though], Spoilers through S2.

I nearly didn't read this fic, because stories in which a main character suffers disability of any kind are usually too dark for my taste. But then I followed a rec from stargateficrec and, wow, so glad I did.

This was written for the sga_flashfic's wordless challenge: McKay gets poisoned offworld, suffers brain damage and loses his ability to process words. There is no magical reset button, just ways he finally deals with his aphasia, and how that happens is utterly fascinating to read. Also amazing how the_drifter gets into his mind and conveys the wordlessness of his communications.

I'm keeping it vague 'cause I don't want to give away any of the plot... which is exciting and original, and really intense. There are so many memorable scenes in this, I can't even say which is my favorite one. ( snippet, spoilerish for the fic )

fanart: Yesterday I spent a frustrating hour experimenting with acrylics (Sheppard kindly volunteered, nice guy that he is) followed by an even more frustrating hour trying to fix it on the computer. I was trying out wet-in-wet washes with acrylics and yeah, didn't work. They behave way different from watercolors, I'm ruefully going back to wet-on-dry: here’s one of Ronon I just colored in about five minutes, restoring my faith in the medium and myself.

( large pic )