Lemon Chicken

In 2007, Lemon Chicken (also referred to as "Lemon Chicken Rating") became a Stargate: Atlantis fic trope. It was first coined in a meta essay by iibnf.
==Definition==
"Lemon chicken" is referenced specifically because in the series, McKay claims to be very allergic to citrus. Thus, "lemon chicken" (or other citrus-related food) is a type of food that might be served to him as a deliberate punishment, for example in the mess hall.
The description of a fanwork as "lemon chicken" is homage to this trope; story notes by a fan: "I keep trying to make the perfect lemon chicken story." story notes for Data Points by blackchaps 
"Lemon Chicken" has nothing to do with the descriptive fannish term Lemon which is a rating of sexual explicitness.
==Origin==
Rodney McKay makes some serious mistakes in the Stargate: Atlantis episode "Trinity" which leads to the blowing up of 5/6 of a galaxy.
This error provides much material for fanworks that explore the consequences of his actions within the episode. These fics also explore themes of forgiveness, trust, hubris and friendship, and generally feature woobieness, groveling, punishment, and Rodney McKay's difficult personality. 
===Stargate: Atlantis -- The Post-Trinity phenomenon===
One fan, iibnf, put these two things together in a meta essay called Stargate: Atlantis -- The Post-Trinity phenomenon. In it, "Trinity"-related fanworks were recced according to their 'Lemon Chicken Rating': "How angsty it is - like, is lemon chicken actually served or does the shunning just make Rodney feel like he wants to eat it and die..."
Excerpts
 
==Examples in Fics and Fan Comments==
* \o/ lemon chicken in the mess!!! written for SGA Saturday is a 2011 fic by lilyfarfalla. This story has a sly reference to "shunning," and pokes fun at The Post-Trinity Phenomenon. 
* 4/5ths of a System by Lit-Gal. "Lemon Chicken literally places a role in this story! Excellent. It's been a long time since I've seen literal lemon chicken trotted out. Also lemon eggs, and lots of oranges. Jack and Daniel from SG1 have to come to SGA and sort all this lemon chicken shit out! Notable Note: This is the first story in this trope that has a plausible explanation for why the mess hall staff would be interested in serving a lot of citrus related food as part of the shunning. Gave me a 'huh, of course' moment. Smart author. Lemon Chicken Rating: 2 out of ten. Although there is literally lemons and oranges everywhere, there's little to no actual wangst. No one calls a waaaaambulance in this." -- story description and rec from Stargate: Atlantis -- The Post-Trinity phenomenon
* DrunkTuesdaze's explanation of the lemon chicken phenomena
* Sandstorms by Mithreon "Excellent recent addition to the genre! McKay gets eaten alive by bugs. After a lot of nasty shunning, Rodney gets taken by natives and tortured, and blames John and the others. Mostly John. This quote by perfica sums it up beautifully: It's towards the end of the fic but Rodney gives the monologue to end all monologues as he bitches out the entire command team over their treatment of him over Doranda. It's like Rodney made a big, steaming bowl of lemon chicken and forced everyone to eat it. The best bit is where Sheppard starts crying too. Lemon Chicken Rating: A solid nine out of ten. Updated to ten out of ten by popular request. Long lasting consequences, and John eats some serious crow! Huge crow pie with a side serving of crow! Delicious." -- story description and rec from Stargate: Atlantis -- The Post-Trinity phenomenon
* "The post-Trinity phenomenon masterlist includes stories that contain multiple elements of the post-Trinity (S2ep6, a.k.a. Doranda/the Arcturus Project) phenomenon as defined by iibnf: Rodney blows up most of a solar system, gets shunned by the expedition/the mess serves lemon chicken, there is angst (usually because John is mean to Rodney), and Rodney decamps to China/the sewers of Atlantis. Stories are rated by level of Lemon Chicken (angst)..." (Newer) SGA fic readers guide / So you're becoming an SGA fic addict... (February 22, 2010) 
*Of Duty, Atonement, and Redemption by SCG Gategirl - ""The fallout from the Arcturus project might be more complicated than it seemed to be at first.""
== Lemon Chicken Fic Lists==
* Rodney McKay's Citrus Allergy - self-tagged on AO3
==References==
Category:Stargate Atlantis Tropes & Genres