Kate Heightmeyer/Teyla Emmagan Appreciation/Ship/Discussion Thread

[Falcon Horus]

It's been long overdue but here's another story that focuses on Kate/Teyla - it's a collaboration between myself and Hoktauri (on LJ & DW) for the sgareversebang of 2012. I did the artwork, she wrote the fic to go with it.

Fic: What You Say by Listening (1/2) (2/2)
Author: Hoktauri
Pairings: Teyla Emmagan/Kate Heightmeyer
Rating: PG-13
Word Count: 11,044
Warnings: none
Summary: Teyla requests Kate’s assistance on a mission, with surprising results.

Art: The Story of Us
Artist: Falcon Horus
Rating: PG
Pairing: Kate/Teyla
Warning: none

Preview of the artwork:

[The Lady Blue]

*blows dust off thread*

So anyway... I wrote a 700 words or so essay about why I ship Teyla/Kate:

Spoiler:

Why Teyla Emmagan/Kate Heightmeyer is my femslash OTP in Stargate Atlantis?

When I first started watching Stargate Atlantis, I almost immediately took to the character of Teyla. The Athosians as a whole looked to be an interesting people and I was excited to learn more about them, and about their leader. She’s a woman who can take care of herself and kick some serious butt in one go without even breaking a sweat. And yet, she knows that fighting for it can be done in other ways then resorting to violence and we learn that there’s a diplomat in her as well. She joins the expedition in hopes that they will one day defeat the Wraith and her journey begins.

When Kate Heightmeyer first appears in The Gift (season 1), I noticed a great chemistry between her and Teyla. Even though Teyla snaps at her when first they meet, there’s an instant respect for each other. Kate knows very well how to handle matters of the mind.
As for the character there’s very little we know about Kate and over the course of 5 episodes there isn’t much more that we’ll learn, apart from her having been a couple’s therapist and apparently she’s afraid of heights if her nightmare in Doppelganger (season 4) is anything to by. It’s the curse of being a secondary character to the main cast, a background character but a darn interesting one at that. With so little background one can fill in the blanks however they like, just the way I like it. Kate as a character is patient, gentle, understanding and tries her very best to be helpful in a situation that is unknown to her but can be brought back to the very basics of the human psyche.

I didn’t immediately started shipping Kate and Teyla, not by a long shot. It wasn’t until much later, after watching The Gift a few more times in between seasons that I started to put the two of them together as a couple. And only after I read a couple of fanfictions dealing with the two of them. Though I had in the meantime fallen hook, line and sinker for Kate so I was primarily looking for fanfiction that had Kate as a main character or in a significant role. Those were, and still are, rare to say the least in the grand scheme of things of the fandom. Unfortunately for me, she’s not a popular character. Then again, neither is Teyla or any of the other women to be quite honest. Which is a damn shame because they have a lot more to offer than to be paired with the favorite male character of one’s choosing.
Anyway, seeing as how few episodes Kate actually appears in I have very little material to work with, yet every episodes shows that they are at least very well acquainted with one another. Not in the least, it’s Teyla who goes to Kate’s quarters when she doesn’t show up for a meet, and sadly finds her dead in her room. My shipper heart broke in a gazillion pieces and my number 1 favorite character was no more (number 3 had been off’ed earlier in the season, and number 2’s faith would be to disappear in the background in favor of McKay and to a lesser extent Sheppard); and Stargate Atlantis would never be the same again after that.
I both hate and love Doppelganger, I hate that Kate gets the short end of the stick but I absolutely love the Kate/Teyla aspects. It effectively ends the friendship/romantic relationship, but at the same time it opens a whole new can of ideas to rectify the situation. One can deny it ever happened, or one can use it to explore the what ifs of it all, or put Teyla through the emotional wringer some more.

Now to answer the original question, having explained all of the above:

Because Kate and Teyla are two very unique characters, with their own traits, faults and strengths. One has a bit of background to deal with, the other has barely any. They respect each other, complement each other and understand one another in more ways than one. They look great together on screen, and have a great chemistry going. If in some other world this pairing had been canon, I’m sure the powers that were would have frakked them up real good so I’m glad they’re not and I get to play with them instead... to my heart’s content.

This is a good post. I've been looking through the second page of the C&R section and this is one of the ones that I started reading because it seemed so different to me. My favorite character is Teyla, and so anything involving her interests me. I'd love to hang out on her thread, but it doesn't get enough attention for that so I'm thinking maybe some of the more active threads may be the way to go.

[Falcon Horus]

This is a good post.

Thank you.

I've been looking through the second page of the C&R section and this is one of the ones that I started reading because it seemed so different to me.

Being a rare pairing does have its advantages I see. Of course, I wish it was different but alas it isn't so.

My favorite character is Teyla, and so anything involving her interests me. I'd love to hang out on her thread, but it doesn't get enough attention for that so I'm thinking maybe some of the more active threads may be the way to go.

The lack of attention on the Teyla-thread is mostly due to most of her fans either having disappeared off GW or hanging about in other threads, but maybe it's time to breath some new life into it. It's always been a slow thread though, so I can't promise you it'll stay active. However, no harm in trying...

And welcome to this one of course, always nice to meet new people (possibly new fans)!

[The Lady Blue]

Thank you.



Being a rare pairing does have its advantages I see. Of course, I wish it was different but alas it isn't so.

Yes, it appears it does. The good thing is that there are many opportunities to keep the stories going in whatever direction anyone likes.

The lack of attention on the Teyla-thread is mostly due to most of her fans either having disappeared off GW or hanging about in other threads, but maybe it's time to breath some new life into it. It's always been a slow thread though, so I can't promise you it'll stay active. However, no harm in trying...

It looks like the women's threads tend to be slower than the men's. Teyla's doing ok though, considering how much she wasn't featured on the show. And yes, why not.

And welcome to this one of course, always nice to meet new people (possibly new fans)!

Thank you. I was here the other day, but didn't come back to this section. For me, as long as it's Teyla related, I'm interested. I have an open mind, so with a great character and a sci-fi setting, anything is possible.

[Falcon Horus]

For those interested in the friendship between these two fine ladies...

I wrote a small ficlet - 299 words to be exact (according to AO3). A tag to the season 2 episode, The Long Goodbye:

Aftermath by Falcon Horus
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: implied John/Teyla, implied John/Elizabeth
Characters: Kate Heightmeyer, Teyla Emmagan
Summary: After the events of The Long Goodbye, Kate's being a friend to Teyla.
Note: the implied relationships are no more or less implied than they are in the actual episode

[The Lady Blue]

For those interested in the friendship between these two fine ladies...

I wrote a small ficlet - 299 words to be exact (according to AO3). A tag to the season 2 episode, The Long Goodbye:

Aftermath by Falcon Horus
Rating: General Audiences
Relationships: implied John/Teyla, implied John/Elizabeth
Characters: Kate Heightmeyer, Teyla Emmagan
Summary: After the events of The Long Goodbye, Kate's being a friend to Teyla.
Note: the implied relationships are no more or less implied than they are in the actual episode

Very nice story. I hope you follow up on it if it strikes you to do so.

[Falcon Horus]

Very nice story. I hope you follow up on it if it strikes you to do so.

That hadn't actually crossed my mind when I was writing it, but who knows... no promises though cause I've got a few more WIP's in my folder that I'm hoping to finish some time soon-ish. Although, I guess I could write a follow-up to aftermath.

[The Lady Blue]

That hadn't actually crossed my mind when I was writing it, but who knows... no promises though cause I've got a few more WIP's in my folder that I'm hoping to finish some time soon-ish. Although, I guess I could write a follow-up to aftermath.

That would be very nice, but only if you wanted to.

[Falcon Horus]

That would be very nice, but only if you wanted to.

Trust me, it's not a problem of not wanting to. It's my fickle muse and my limited time...

[mandogater]

Trust me, it's not a problem of not wanting to. It's my fickle muse and my limited time...

I know the feeling all too well.

[The Lady Blue]

I know how that can go.

[Falcon Horus]

It does feel great to know that I'm not alone in that area.

[Falcon Horus]

No follow-up yet to Aftermath but a little fic inspired by my own soar throat which bugged me last week. Mine evolved into an infection of the upper airways which is better now though.

Anyhow... here be fic, unbeta'd cause I wouldn't be able to drop it here this instant. It will get beta'd and properly posted somewhere eventually.

Pre-relationship
Rating G

Spoiler:

Kate sniffed, pulling the collar of her jacket closer around her neck. She had woken up with a soar throat, which had steadily evolved towards sneezing, teary eyes and clogged up sinuses. She had been feeling worse throughout the course of the morning but had stubbornly continued her work. If Elizabeth could do it, so could she. However, paying attention to her patients rapidly turned into one hell of a battle against her own fatigue. And the last thing she wanted, was to fall asleep in front of her patients.

She made it through Rodney's session, but lost her battle during Miko's. The last thing she heard, registered as a continuous buzz of high-pitched sounds.

Next she woke, Miko was no longer sitting across from her but instead she found Teyla sitting in her stead, cross-legged reading one of her books. Kate noticed how daylight had diminished and she realized several hours must have passed since she was fighting her way through the Japanese scientist's session. She sat up straight again, making Teyla aware she was awake. Her best friend rose from her seat and closed the short distance between them, laying her hand on Kate's forehead, which was burning if the cool touch was anything to go by.

“I canceled all your appointments,” Teyla started, “for the rest of the week. Carson wanted me to inform you he would have you confined to the infirmary if you did not take the rest of the week off.”

Kate winced at the thread hidden in Teyla's words. They sure weren't leaving her much of a choice, were they. It pretty much looked like they had made all the decisions for her already. To be fair, though, Kate was feeling horrible and really wasn't up to complaining about it anyway. Like she'd dare to stand up to Carson to begin with. Anyone in his or her right mind would know better than to go there.

“You do not have to worry about anything,” Teyla continued as she gathered her book and offered Kate her arm as support, indicating they were leaving the office. “Colonel Sheppard knows I will not be joining the team on our next mission.”

It finally dawned on Kate, as she accepted the offered help, that she was going to have Teyla all to herself for the remainder of the week. All to herself. All of a sudden, being sick and feeling horrible wasn't so bad after all.

[mandogater]

No follow-up yet to Aftermath but a little fic inspired by my own soar throat which bugged me last week. Mine evolved into an infection of the upper airways which is better now though.

Anyhow... here be fic, unbeta'd cause I wouldn't be able to drop it here this instant. It will get beta'd and properly posted somewhere eventually.

Pre-relationship
Rating G

Spoiler:

Kate sniffed, pulling the collar of her jacket closer around her neck. She had woken up with a soar throat, which had steadily evolved towards sneezing, teary eyes and clogged up sinuses. She had been feeling worse throughout the course of the morning but had stubbornly continued her work. If Elizabeth could do it, so could she. However, paying attention to her patients rapidly turned into one hell of a battle against her own fatigue. And the last thing she wanted, was to fall asleep in front of her patients.

She made it through Rodney's session, but lost her battle during Miko's. The last thing she heard, registered as a continuous buzz of high-pitched sounds.

Next she woke, Miko was no longer sitting across from her but instead she found Teyla sitting in her stead, cross-legged reading one of her books. Kate noticed how daylight had diminished and she realized several hours must have passed since she was fighting her way through the Japanese scientist's session. She sat up straight again, making Teyla aware she was awake. Her best friend rose from her seat and closed the short distance between them, laying her hand on Kate's forehead, which was burning if the cool touch was anything to go by.

“I canceled all your appointments,” Teyla started, “for the rest of the week. Carson wanted me to inform you he would have you confined to the infirmary if you did not take the rest of the week off.”

Kate winced at the thread hidden in Teyla's words. They sure weren't leaving her much of a choice, were they. It pretty much looked like they had made all the decisions for her already. To be fair, though, Kate was feeling horrible and really wasn't up to complaining about it anyway. Like she'd dare to stand up to Carson to begin with. Anyone in his or her right mind would know better than to go there.

“You do not have to worry about anything,” Teyla continued as she gathered her book and offered Kate her arm as support, indicating they were leaving the office. “Colonel Sheppard knows I will not be joining the team on our next mission.”

It finally dawned on Kate, as she accepted the offered help, that she was going to have Teyla all to herself for the remainder of the week. All to herself. All of a sudden, being sick and feeling horrible wasn't so bad after all.

Glad to hear you're feeling better, FH.

Your ficlet is really cute. Since I can't green you again yet. Mental green.

[Falcon Horus]

Thank you!