Reassembling by Wojelah (PG)

[asugar.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Teyla
Pairing: None
Category: Teyla & John Friendship, Teyla, Gen
Warning: None
Author on LJ: http://wojelah.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: http://omgmetoo.livejournal.com/7124.html (incomplete for all her fic)
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/choc_fic/57643.html

Why This Must Be Read: This short and perfectly constructed Outcast episode tag gave me the scene between John and Teyla I craved and which was sorely missing from the episode. One of my favorite parts of Stargate Atlantis has always been the instant, intense friendship between John and Teyla. Hopefully everyone is lucky enough to have that kind of best friend, someone loyal to you beyond death, who understands everything you don't and can't say, a person who makes you better for having known them. Teyla and John don't just respect each other on a personal level; they also deeply respect each other as warriors and leaders.

Season Four was a difficult one for the relationship. The two grew apart and the reasons why were not apparent to John until the revelations of "Be All My Sins Remember'd;" John was deeply hurt by that change and by Teyla's keeping her relationship and subsequent pregnancy a secret for so long. However, being John, he couldn't abandon a friend in need or ignore the deep pain Teyla was suffering over the disappearance of her people. By the end of Teyla's pregnancy, the two had forgiven each other and were reforging their bond. Wojelah beautifully paints out the shifting and healing friendship between them and the comfort they find in each other. I love how she captures all the subtext and unspoken reassurances and somehow makes me feel hopeful too. It's deeply moving.

First Impressions Aren't Everything by Cottontail (PG)

[asugar.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Gen
Pairing: None
Category: Gen, John Sheppard, Crossover, Cameron Mitchell
Warning: None
Author on LJ: http://cottontail.livejournal.com/
Author's Website: http://cottontail.livejournal.com/109170.html
Link: http://community.livejournal.com/sg_flyboys/8147.html

Why This Must Be Read: After that impressive demonstration of John's flying skills in "Enemy at the Gate," flying that 302, it feels like the perfect time to recommend this story in which Cameron Mitchell meets the infamous John Sheppard, is disappointed and then over many encounters and flying in a 302 battle with him, finally gets what all the hype about. The Cam POV feels dead-on and it's very enjoyable to see a comparison of two characters who are so alike and yet so different, one the Air Force golden boy and the other a self-destructive rebel. By the time Cam becomes a full-on fanboy (as he does so well), the reader knows the mysterious Sheppard better too. Cottontail has a strong grasp on Sheppard's characterization and writes flying better than pretty much anyone else I've read. Check out the rest of her gen fic for many more treasures (never read her McShep stories, sorry).

( A snippet of the fic )

The Legend of Smedley Ducker, the Fighting Quacker by Domenika Marzione (PG)

[asugar.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Original Character
Pairing: None, well.... perhaps OC Duck/OC Duck
Category: Original Character, Comedy, Gen, John Sheppard, Evan Lorne, Atlantis Military, CrackFic
Warning: Laughing too hard, mention of animal testing
Author on LJ: http://miss-porcupine.livejournal.com/
Author's Website:  http://www.offpanel.net/dmz/sga.html or http://delicious.com/dmzfic
Link: http://www.offpanel.net/dmz/sga/smedley.html or http://miss-porcupine.livejournal.com/266592.html

Why This Must Be Read: Domenika Marzione aka miss_porcupine is pretty much the acknowledged queen of SGA original characters, Lorne, Sheppard and military stories. She's written hundreds of stories featuring her incredibly vivid original character marines, Dr. Yoni Safir, Nancy the nurse, Reletti and the rest of Lorne's team, the three Captains, the lieutenant posse and many other enjoyably eccentric Atlantis and Pegasus denizens. If you haven't read any of her stories, I envy you the experience of reading them for the first time. She is as deft with humor and action as angst and her Lorne, Sheppard and other military members are incredibly realistic, competent and FUN. Run, don't walk over to her website, bookmarks on Delicious and LJ (sadly, none of the above seem to have ALL of her fics so I recommend starting on Delicious by earliest date and then checking the other two for what you've missed). Another tip, read the comments with each fic for additional tidbits from the author.

As amazing as her Sheppard, Lorne and Marines are though, one of the best characters she's ever created was a duck. Yes, you read that correctly, a duck. In this short and laugh-out-loud funny, so-absurd-it's-almost-crackfic story, an ordinary Earth duck kept as a lab animal escapes and endears herself completely to the Marines who go nuts over her as only Marines can. I'm not sure who has more fun with her, the Marines or the barely straight-faced Lorne and Sheppard. Go read this story as an excellent introduction to the world of Atlantis as told by miss_porcupine (who does SGA a million times better than the writers) and for a piece of comic art that will brighten even the darkest January day. You will thank me when you're done. Don't forget to read her drabble of Weir's POV on this escapade.

( A snippet of fic.... )

In December by Kres (R)

[paian]

Rec Category: Jack/Daniel
Pairing: Jack O'Neill/Daniel Jackson
Category: SG-1, slash, Daniel/Jack, Daniel Jackson, Jack O'Neill, angst, established relationship
Warning: None
Author on LJ: kres
Author's Website: Explorations
Link: In December (web site) | In December (LJ)

Author's summary: Dreams are bubbles, and they are floating, floating up, up and into the dark.


Why This Must Be Read:

Jack comes back to Colorado Springs for an unofficial visit for the first time since his move to D.C., and the reception he gets may or may not be what he expected -- and for good reason.

This is the first fic of Kres's that I ever read, and it's stuck with me ever since. It's about what we want and what we wish and what we thought was coming and what we still expect, all layered over and under and inside what is. Kres manipulates perception and reality with a deft touch in all her fics. Like agentotter, she's twisty -- things are frequently not what they seem to be, and yield even more powerful, hard-hitting truths when the reality comes clear. The bleak yearning in 'In December' is haunting -- the ghosts of possibilities, the hints of mysteries still unplumbed. One of my favorite things about it is that it doesn't say why Jack went to Washington or what he's actually doing. Even the reader isn't cleared to know those things; we're not insiders anymore, the way we got used to being for those eight years. It's startling to realize. And we're not the only ones.

About 2300 words.


( excerpt )

Carthago Delenda Est by Synedochic (Mature)

[bristow1941.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Jack/Sam
Pairing: Jack O'Neill/Samantha Carter
Category: Jack/Sam. Het. Angst. Romance. Did I mention angst??
Warning: Het, Mention of Bi-sexuality, Heavy Amounts of Angst
Author on LJ: Synecdochic
Author's Website: http://www.kekkai.org/synecdochic/
Link: http://synecdochic.livejournal.com/182821.html

Why This Must Be Read: Imagine a bisexual Jack determined to deny all of his non-heterosexual feelings to stay in the Air Force. Now imagine him in love with both Sam and Daniel. He has denied all of his feelings for Daniel while allowing those for Sam to peek out. After watching the clone of Jack embrace his homosexuality, Sam finally decides to examine the feelings between herself and Jack and concludes that there is real feelings on both sides between them.  Unlike her usual avoidance of the issue, Sam has decided to confront Jack. Now I may have just lost the Sam/Jack fan base, but I highly recommend Synecdochic's take on Sam finally confronting Jack and forcing him to be honest with her. It is all too rare for us to see Sam stand her ground and insist that Jack be honest with her regarding the feelings between them. To see this confrontation from a highly-respected slash writer is interesting to say the least and Synecdochic makes the discussion sing. Both are in character, all too-willing to hide from what they feel and wounded, and the sexual tension between the two of them is enough to make you want to lie back and smoke a cigarette. Give this a chance to read some of the best written Sam/Jack I've seen.... Just to clarify, this is part of the Broken Wings universe with a lot of other non-het stories -- this section can totally stand on its own without needing to read the rest of the universe.

( A small sample to whet your appetite: )

The Lies You Feed Yourself by Annerb (PG)

[bristow1941.livejournal.com]

Rec Category: Jack/Sam
Pairing: Jack/Sam
Category: Jack/Sam, Jack, Sam, het, angst, UST
Warning: Het
Author on LJ: annerhp
Author's Website: http://annerbhp.livejournal.com/
Link: http://annerbhp.livejournal.com/104941.html or http://community.livejournal.com/sj_everyday/552983.html#cutid1

Why This Must Be Read: Can I say how much I adore secret santa fic that the rest of us get to enjoy? December was a very happy month for Sam/Jack fans with a plethora of wonderful Christmas fic. My favorite for angst turned happiness was Annerb's The Lies You Feed Yourself where we get to Sam and Jack who have drifted away from each other and where the Stargate has been disclosed to the public.  According to Annerb, the "fic is AU in the sense that season nine and ten and the Ori never happened, but also that the events of ‘Grace’ and everything that subsequently followed (especially all of Sam’s character development) didn’t happen either." Don't worry - the fic ends happily and beautifully with fishing just as all Christmas fic should. 

( How can you not love a fic with dialogue like this: )