'The Secret Life of Scientists' by Julad (adult)

[rosewildeirish.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Zelenka
Pairing: McKay/various, eventually McKay/Zelenka
Category: Hard to classify - multiples apply.
Warning: Het, Slash, Character Death (OC)
Author on LJ: julad
Author's Website: ambivalent pleasures
Link: The Secret Life of Scientists

Why This Must Be Read: This is the story that everyone was going nuts for when it was new. It's a constantly recycled rec, but it's worth mentioning because the story, Rodney-centric, is fantastic. It takes a while to get to the Zelenka of the story, but oh, the characterization.

For example, I love his introduction:
Somebody tapped on his shoulder. Little guy, fuzzy hair, glasses. Rodney put the milk behind his back. "P. Kavanagh, I presume?" he said brightly.

"Ah, no," the guy said softly, in a thick accent. "I am not P. Kavanagh. I am person guilty of spitting into milk of P. Kavanagh. It was wrong of me. I feel terrible. I see you take milk out, and I think, I must urgently confess to my superior, before I am reported."

Rodney looked at the guy, and then at the milk, and then put the milk back in the fridge and closed the door. "Well, no harm done, this time. In future, just think before you go spitting in perfectly good milk, understand?"

The guy nodded earnestly. "Yes, I now see the error of my ways."

"Connected Lives" by Elizabeth Mc (PG)

[slythhearted.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Crossover
Pairing: Daniel/Jack, Fraser/RayK (DS)
Category: Crossover, Action
Warning: Slash
Author on LJ: Not that I can find
Author's Website: Ditto
Link: http://www.squidge.org/dsa/archive/8/connectedlives.html

Why This Must Be Read: Elizabeth MC's summary describes her story as " When RayK and Daniel Jackson meet a dangerous person from their past, Fraser and Jack O'Neill are left to unravel the mystery, " It sounds like Kevin Bacon's 7 Degrees of Separation meets SG1 but it is so much more than that. This would have to be my favourite crossover between the two shows. It grabbed my attention from the start and kept it through all 236k. The story skips around in time back as far as the late 60's, through the 70's and then the present allowing glimpses of how a single figure connects the four lives.

"Beloved" by Brenda Antrim (NC-17)

[fhartman.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: BDSM/Non-Con
Pairing: Daniel/Surprise
Category: SG1, Drama, A/A, Angst
Warning: Slash
Author on LJ: Unknown
Author's Website: http://www.bantrim.net/
Link: http://www.bantrim.net/Beloved.html

Why This Must Be Read: This is an older story, but one that still deserves a second look (or a first one, if you've never seen it before). I was a little disappointed that the "surprise" was easy enough to figure out, but that doesn't really diminish the impact of the piece, or its inevitable impact on Daniel. What sets this non-con apart is that while Daniel is certainly victimized physically, the emphasis isn't on his being victimized emotionally - his internal monologue is actually the stronger story for me. And, well, yeah…the sex is kinda hot, too. Sue me.