SGA fic recs
Feb. 11th, 2008 09:43 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
emonyRight, I promised a fic recs post, so here one is. To be honest, I've mostly been re-reading Sith Academy, because it makes me so indescribably happy. I first read Sith Academy while I was writing (or not, in fact, on account of reading SA instead) my undergrad dissertation. ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
akire_yta expressed her shock that I didn't know what a Hamster Death Gulp was, and pointed me in the right direction to remedy my ignorance. The rest, as they say, is history. I admit, there are two stories in there which I skip, because I don't count them as canon, on account of them being ... not as high quality as the rest, shall we say? But the rest, I have read at least three times now, and it still makes me dizzy with joy :)
The only downside is that I'm nearing the end now (30 fics to go), which makes me sad, because my god there's nothing else like Sith Academy. But it's sort of like![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-community.gif)
nocturne_alley - it's a beautiful fandom experience, and whenever I think about it I just remember how amazing the first time was. Only with SA I can reread it, unlike NA. Oh, NA. I loved NA. God, I loved NA.
But that's not actually what I'm here for. The recs I want to make are the things I've been reading besides SA. All SGA, I'm afraid, and all McShep. I'm nothing if not loyal to my OTPs.
I am up to date on all episodes that have aired so far, but am NOT spoiled for ANY future events or ANY future developments (including season 5 spoilers - I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW).
So these may have some s4 spoilers, but won't go beyond what's aired. I've tried to mark the ones I remember as having spoilers, but I'm a bit rubbish so I may have missed some. If you're in any doubt, and are hardcore at spoiler avoiding, like me, and you're pre season 4, you're probably best steering clear of this whole post, just in case.
So, first: Forget Me Not bymaisierita. [SGA, McShep, R]
First thing I love about this one is the length - 47,000 words. Yum! I love long fics, and this one really creates a universe that you can just sink in to. The author's summary is: John the servant turns out not to be anything like Rodney would have imagined. I seem to recall, when I first stumbled across this, I almost didn't read it. Slave!fic totally doesn't do it for me. But this is totally, totally NOT slave!fic, in any way. It is amnesia!fic though. John and Rodney are in prison, but it's more like a controlled environment really than your regular sort of prison. Rodney is a higher "class" of prisoner, doing academic, sciencey type work, and John, who's at a lower level, gets assigned as his servant.
For serious, though, it's really awesome. If you don't believe me, believe the 7 pages of comments on part 5 :)
Next, Si Muovo bykassrachel and sihayab. [SGA, McShep, PG13 maybe?]
This one, geez, it nearly killed me. Now, I'm going to outline the concept, but you have to promise not to run screaming until you reach the end of my comments. It's an AU where Rodney is a priest .. no, come on, you promised! It sounds totally ridiculous, but this fic really proves my theory (I think, anyway) that any concept can be made to work if it's skilfully written. Rodney is a priest, who goes to this totally remote island off Canada somewhere (sorry, my geography is shocking) to teach in a school .. come on, guys! It's awesome, I promise. On his way there, he meets an ex-air force pilot who now runs the planes over from the mainland to the island, and from there it's love and adventure and old men playing chess and a few children, though not many, and some more priestly things.
When I saw it, I was like, "oh yah whateva", but it's totally worth the effort. Just sit yourself down and read the first few paragraphs, and if you're not drawn in .. well, I think you will be.
On to The Twenty Year Thaw bydenynothing1. [SGA, McShep, can't remember the rating]
This is total AU crack. I admit it, I have a weakness for AUs. I always have, since my Buffy days I think. I love the possibilities of a good AU. The operative word there is "good". So many AUs lose the characters, which is tragic and makes the whole thing pointless. But this one I really adored. It has everyone, but you're not overwhelmed by the author fighting to lever characters in just for the sake of it. Ronon and Keller are particularly cute, but that might just be because I totally want them to get married and have babiez omg!
So anyway, this is basically an AU set at a ski resort. Yes, really! Where Rodney and John are former professional skiers, and Ronon is a .. that snow-related sport with snowboards.. a snowboarder! (duh). Former skiing champion Rodney works at the Pegasus Ski Resort, where John and Ronon (also famous in their fields) come to work for one season. John and Rodney had a fling back in the day, but being boys they managed to screw it up, and haven't spoken in 20 years. Cue awkwardness. It's really cute. I adore it :) Also 17,500 words. See above re: long fic.
Then there's A Little Bit Like Goldilocks, A Lot Like That Woody Allen Movie bytzzzz. [SGA, McShep, Sam/John, R]
Yeah, look, I'll admit flat out that this one isn't perfect. For one thing, we know Sam flew missions in the first Iraq war, so she's definitely a pilot. But that's so beside the point. This is basically a fic wherein Rodney gets it into his head that Sam and John were involved, and, with flashbacks, we see the parallels between Sam/John and John/Rodney. I think I mostly like this one because the Sam in it is kind of awesome. She's just really real. I like the way it's written, and I like the characters. Nice.
Five, Four, Three, Two, One (Zero) bybusaikko. [SGA, McShep, NC17]
This has been totally Jossed by Outcast, but it still beautifully written. I was a bit thrown by one of the illustrative pictures, which has Will Smith in it, but apart from that this is lovely. It's quite and contemplative.
Which brings us to When I'm 64 bynymphaea1. [SGA, McShep, NC17]
This is totally beautiful. It's one of those fics where nothing much really happens. There's no high action plot or anything. It just sort of unfolds as you read, and it's all about the people. It's future!fic, which is hard to remember because you're getting all soppy and misty-eyed over some 60 year old guys, which is - sorry to be ageist here - kind of gross. There are also flashbacks to explain what happened on Atlantis. It's all been Jossed, mind you, but that so doesn't matter. It's basically just a story about two people being in love, and being in love for the long haul. It's a very soothing, very lovely read.
Okay, now, please don't drop dead from shock, but this next one is gen. No really, it's gen. It is, however, gen by Danvers. Homecoming. [SGA, gen, PG] Post-Outcast fic.
This is just John, reacting and feeling and internalising. Now I'm not saying internalising as a bad thing here. It's totally in character and right, and I think that was Danvers' point. John is the sort of person who keeps his feelings to himself, and that's okay! He is feeling, and you can see if right through the fic, but he shows it in his own way with each of the people he sees when he returns. It could have been a tag scene at the end of the episode, if they'd needed to fill a few minutes, because it's dead on accurate, imo.
On a slightly related note (or, you know, not), Post-Nuptial byrageprufrock. [SGA, McShep, NC17]
This was written for the 14 Valentines thing, which I have never checked out because I am a bad person. However, it is basically a very amusing account of Planet of the MPreg, wherein a cultural misunderstanding leads to Rodney having to pretend he's pregnant. There's no actual mpreg - well, not among our guys. Obviously Planet of the MPreg are, as their name suggests, prone to a spot of male pregnancy. It's just funny, and sort of touching. I really enjoyed it.
Rights of Man byunamaga. [SGA, McShep, R]
Unamaga says this is: "completely and shamelessly self-indulgent". I wish she'd indulge herself a little more often, because this totally made me happy. I love political fics :) Two of my favourite things combined - just add some chocolate and I'll die a happy woman. So in this fic, John Sheppard runs for President. Yeah. It's quite short, so there's not a lot of detail, but even without the flesh, the story is there and entirely satisfying. As I said, I love AUs, and this is a great one. Totally cute ending too. If only it were that simple!
And last, but not least, Theory of Everything byrheanna27. [SGA, McShep, R]
I read this today. Literally, I read the first part before I went to work this morning, then finished it when I got home. And I cried twice. It's a what if along the lines of what if a screw-up with ancient tech led to Rodney losing his mental faculties - like IQ south of 70 lost. Wow. It's utterly heart-breaking, in one particular place that I won't spoil, but you'll know when you get there, I think, that I totally sobbed.
I admit, because I am prone to random fits of inappropriate honestly, that I think the very end isn't great. It didn't need the thing that happened to happen. It could've ended on a much more, hm, realistic note. I'm trying not to spoil it, but, yeah. When you get there, you'll know what I mean.
Don't let this put you off though. The first 6/7ths or whatever is wonderful stuff, and the end doesn't ruin it. It's just not as good as it could've been, and it's a shame.
So there we go. I promised recs, and recs I delivered :) These are all bookmarked on my Del.icio.us account too, if anyone ever wants to track what I'm reading. I only bookmark things I love, so it's a good bet, if something's there, I'd probably rec it if I were writing a rec post. Given that I'm too lazy to write regular posts, it may just be easier to follow the bookmarking. Although I do sometimes also bookmark cake recipes and stuff ;)
Speaking of cake, I made a lemon chocolate cake this weekend, because I had some eggs left over from Shrove Tuesday. I set out to make a lemon cake because I also had lemon juice left over from Shrove Tuesday, but it became a chocolate cake because, well, I like chocolate. It doesn't actually taste of lemon at all, nor does the "lemon" icing, but my goodness it tastes nice. It's v moist. Not sure whether that's the subtle influence of the lemon juice. I may have to investigate this further by a). making more cakes, and b). eating a piece now. Mmm cake.
akire_yta expressed her shock that I didn't know what a Hamster Death Gulp was, and pointed me in the right direction to remedy my ignorance. The rest, as they say, is history. I admit, there are two stories in there which I skip, because I don't count them as canon, on account of them being ... not as high quality as the rest, shall we say? But the rest, I have read at least three times now, and it still makes me dizzy with joy :)The only downside is that I'm nearing the end now (30 fics to go), which makes me sad, because my god there's nothing else like Sith Academy. But it's sort of like
nocturne_alley - it's a beautiful fandom experience, and whenever I think about it I just remember how amazing the first time was. Only with SA I can reread it, unlike NA. Oh, NA. I loved NA. God, I loved NA.But that's not actually what I'm here for. The recs I want to make are the things I've been reading besides SA. All SGA, I'm afraid, and all McShep. I'm nothing if not loyal to my OTPs.
I am up to date on all episodes that have aired so far, but am NOT spoiled for ANY future events or ANY future developments (including season 5 spoilers - I DO NOT WANT TO KNOW).
So these may have some s4 spoilers, but won't go beyond what's aired. I've tried to mark the ones I remember as having spoilers, but I'm a bit rubbish so I may have missed some. If you're in any doubt, and are hardcore at spoiler avoiding, like me, and you're pre season 4, you're probably best steering clear of this whole post, just in case.
So, first: Forget Me Not by
maisierita. [SGA, McShep, R]First thing I love about this one is the length - 47,000 words. Yum! I love long fics, and this one really creates a universe that you can just sink in to. The author's summary is: John the servant turns out not to be anything like Rodney would have imagined. I seem to recall, when I first stumbled across this, I almost didn't read it. Slave!fic totally doesn't do it for me. But this is totally, totally NOT slave!fic, in any way. It is amnesia!fic though. John and Rodney are in prison, but it's more like a controlled environment really than your regular sort of prison. Rodney is a higher "class" of prisoner, doing academic, sciencey type work, and John, who's at a lower level, gets assigned as his servant.
For serious, though, it's really awesome. If you don't believe me, believe the 7 pages of comments on part 5 :)
Next, Si Muovo by
kassrachel and sihayab. [SGA, McShep, PG13 maybe?]This one, geez, it nearly killed me. Now, I'm going to outline the concept, but you have to promise not to run screaming until you reach the end of my comments. It's an AU where Rodney is a priest .. no, come on, you promised! It sounds totally ridiculous, but this fic really proves my theory (I think, anyway) that any concept can be made to work if it's skilfully written. Rodney is a priest, who goes to this totally remote island off Canada somewhere (sorry, my geography is shocking) to teach in a school .. come on, guys! It's awesome, I promise. On his way there, he meets an ex-air force pilot who now runs the planes over from the mainland to the island, and from there it's love and adventure and old men playing chess and a few children, though not many, and some more priestly things.
When I saw it, I was like, "oh yah whateva", but it's totally worth the effort. Just sit yourself down and read the first few paragraphs, and if you're not drawn in .. well, I think you will be.
On to The Twenty Year Thaw by
denynothing1. [SGA, McShep, can't remember the rating]This is total AU crack. I admit it, I have a weakness for AUs. I always have, since my Buffy days I think. I love the possibilities of a good AU. The operative word there is "good". So many AUs lose the characters, which is tragic and makes the whole thing pointless. But this one I really adored. It has everyone, but you're not overwhelmed by the author fighting to lever characters in just for the sake of it. Ronon and Keller are particularly cute, but that might just be because I totally want them to get married and have babiez omg!
So anyway, this is basically an AU set at a ski resort. Yes, really! Where Rodney and John are former professional skiers, and Ronon is a .. that snow-related sport with snowboards.. a snowboarder! (duh). Former skiing champion Rodney works at the Pegasus Ski Resort, where John and Ronon (also famous in their fields) come to work for one season. John and Rodney had a fling back in the day, but being boys they managed to screw it up, and haven't spoken in 20 years. Cue awkwardness. It's really cute. I adore it :) Also 17,500 words. See above re: long fic.
Then there's A Little Bit Like Goldilocks, A Lot Like That Woody Allen Movie by
tzzzz. [SGA, McShep, Sam/John, R]Yeah, look, I'll admit flat out that this one isn't perfect. For one thing, we know Sam flew missions in the first Iraq war, so she's definitely a pilot. But that's so beside the point. This is basically a fic wherein Rodney gets it into his head that Sam and John were involved, and, with flashbacks, we see the parallels between Sam/John and John/Rodney. I think I mostly like this one because the Sam in it is kind of awesome. She's just really real. I like the way it's written, and I like the characters. Nice.
Five, Four, Three, Two, One (Zero) by
busaikko. [SGA, McShep, NC17]This has been totally Jossed by Outcast, but it still beautifully written. I was a bit thrown by one of the illustrative pictures, which has Will Smith in it, but apart from that this is lovely. It's quite and contemplative.
Which brings us to When I'm 64 by
nymphaea1. [SGA, McShep, NC17]This is totally beautiful. It's one of those fics where nothing much really happens. There's no high action plot or anything. It just sort of unfolds as you read, and it's all about the people. It's future!fic, which is hard to remember because you're getting all soppy and misty-eyed over some 60 year old guys, which is - sorry to be ageist here - kind of gross. There are also flashbacks to explain what happened on Atlantis. It's all been Jossed, mind you, but that so doesn't matter. It's basically just a story about two people being in love, and being in love for the long haul. It's a very soothing, very lovely read.
Okay, now, please don't drop dead from shock, but this next one is gen. No really, it's gen. It is, however, gen by Danvers. Homecoming. [SGA, gen, PG] Post-Outcast fic.
This is just John, reacting and feeling and internalising. Now I'm not saying internalising as a bad thing here. It's totally in character and right, and I think that was Danvers' point. John is the sort of person who keeps his feelings to himself, and that's okay! He is feeling, and you can see if right through the fic, but he shows it in his own way with each of the people he sees when he returns. It could have been a tag scene at the end of the episode, if they'd needed to fill a few minutes, because it's dead on accurate, imo.
On a slightly related note (or, you know, not), Post-Nuptial by
rageprufrock. [SGA, McShep, NC17]This was written for the 14 Valentines thing, which I have never checked out because I am a bad person. However, it is basically a very amusing account of Planet of the MPreg, wherein a cultural misunderstanding leads to Rodney having to pretend he's pregnant. There's no actual mpreg - well, not among our guys. Obviously Planet of the MPreg are, as their name suggests, prone to a spot of male pregnancy. It's just funny, and sort of touching. I really enjoyed it.
Rights of Man by
unamaga. [SGA, McShep, R]Unamaga says this is: "completely and shamelessly self-indulgent". I wish she'd indulge herself a little more often, because this totally made me happy. I love political fics :) Two of my favourite things combined - just add some chocolate and I'll die a happy woman. So in this fic, John Sheppard runs for President. Yeah. It's quite short, so there's not a lot of detail, but even without the flesh, the story is there and entirely satisfying. As I said, I love AUs, and this is a great one. Totally cute ending too. If only it were that simple!
And last, but not least, Theory of Everything by
rheanna27. [SGA, McShep, R]I read this today. Literally, I read the first part before I went to work this morning, then finished it when I got home. And I cried twice. It's a what if along the lines of what if a screw-up with ancient tech led to Rodney losing his mental faculties - like IQ south of 70 lost. Wow. It's utterly heart-breaking, in one particular place that I won't spoil, but you'll know when you get there, I think, that I totally sobbed.
I admit, because I am prone to random fits of inappropriate honestly, that I think the very end isn't great. It didn't need the thing that happened to happen. It could've ended on a much more, hm, realistic note. I'm trying not to spoil it, but, yeah. When you get there, you'll know what I mean.
Don't let this put you off though. The first 6/7ths or whatever is wonderful stuff, and the end doesn't ruin it. It's just not as good as it could've been, and it's a shame.
So there we go. I promised recs, and recs I delivered :) These are all bookmarked on my Del.icio.us account too, if anyone ever wants to track what I'm reading. I only bookmark things I love, so it's a good bet, if something's there, I'd probably rec it if I were writing a rec post. Given that I'm too lazy to write regular posts, it may just be easier to follow the bookmarking. Although I do sometimes also bookmark cake recipes and stuff ;)
Speaking of cake, I made a lemon chocolate cake this weekend, because I had some eggs left over from Shrove Tuesday. I set out to make a lemon cake because I also had lemon juice left over from Shrove Tuesday, but it became a chocolate cake because, well, I like chocolate. It doesn't actually taste of lemon at all, nor does the "lemon" icing, but my goodness it tastes nice. It's v moist. Not sure whether that's the subtle influence of the lemon juice. I may have to investigate this further by a). making more cakes, and b). eating a piece now. Mmm cake.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-11 10:19 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-11 10:22 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 09:19 am (UTC)I was out of the loop from reading SGA fics because of RL, and now that I have more time and really miss reading fics, I didn't know where to start. Now I do.
(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 08:02 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 07:01 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2008-02-12 08:03 pm (UTC)