The Sacrificial Mage by taste_is_sweet (R)

[astridv.livejournal.com]

Show: Stargate Atlantis
Rec Category: Alternate Universe
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, plus ensemble
Pairings: McKay/Sheppard (main, plus Teyla/Kanaan, Weir/Zelenka)
Het/Slash/Gen: slash
Warning: Graphic violence; self-harm which could possibly be triggering.
Author on LJ: taste_is_sweet
Author's Website: --
Link: The Sacrificial Mage

Why this must be read: This is one of my favorite fics of the last year, the story sucked me in immediately. It's original with fantastic and vivid worldbuilding and still SGA through and through. The story is told through the eyes of Rodney, who knows that magic comes at a price and is willing to pay it. John's fate is mysterious and intriguing. All the other characters translate into this story really well too. The plot is gripping, with moments that are tense, and heartbreaking, and funny. I love how the backstory slowly unfolds. I could not put this story down once I started reading.

Magic was a substance, like fire or water. It was abundant and incredibly powerful and could be manipulated with the correct application of knowledge and will. But if you didn't use it properly, you'd be immolated or drowned. Or worse: other people would be, and you'd be forced to watch it happening. That was why it terrified him to see the casual, unthinking way Teyla and Carson used magic, because he knew that someday they'd be forced to pay for what they'd taken. Every wizard would, sooner or later. It was the first thing mages ever learned, and Rodney had lived it.
Magic was a zero-sum game. If you didn't sacrifice as much as you were given, you would lose. (~65,000)

Stairs by James (PG-13)

[cynic2022.livejournal.com]

Show: Stargate Atlantis

Rec Category: McKay/Sheppard/Beckett
Characters: Rodney McKay, John Sheppard, Carson Beckett
Pairing: McKay/Sheppard/Beckett
Het/Slash/Gen: Slash
Warning: None
Author on LJ: gilascave
Author's Website: Gila's Cave
Link: Stairs

Why this must be read: This fic is sweet and funny without feeling insincere. An established relationship between the three men faces the same inevitability that most relationships face, the 'are we getting married' issue, but with a rather amusing premise. Carson's mum thinks they're married already and sends along a wedding quilt for their bed. Hilarity, mostly in the form of an endearingly incredulous Rodney, ensues.

( Excerpt )

Five Headaches SG-1 Gave George Hammond, by Tarimanveri (PG)

[sg-fignewton.livejournal.com]

Show: Stargate SG-1

Rec Category: Five Things
Characters: George Hammond, team
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Warnings: copious amounts of alcohol, spoilers through the show
Author on LJ: tarimanveri
Author's Website: tarimanveri_fic
Link: Five headaches SG-1 gave George Hammond, which he was finally able to laugh about at his retirement party

Why This Must Be Read: We all agree that George Hammond was the best general to command the SGC. And in this delightful Five Things, we join George in looking back, from the vintage point of his retirement party, at five headache-inducing moments that the SG-1 gave him over the years that he can finally laugh about in retrospect. From pranks to paperwork to pizza, both laughter and tears, these moments give us the best of Hammond throughout the years, and the care and affection he has for his people.


He brought out his last bottle of Ibuprofen and set it down in front of Jack. Jack took it in and turned his intense gaze on George. "Was it worth it, sir?" he asked. George picked up the bottle, tossed it into the trash, and smiled broadly at one of the finest officers and finest men he’d ever had the privilege to command. "Absolutely."

Long Ago (And Far Away) by Kristen999 & Everybetty (PG13)

[sholio]

Show: Stargate Atlantis
Rec Category: Hurt/Comfort
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex
Pairing: none
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Warning: WWII historical AU; includes period sexism and racism, and graphic violence
Author on LJ: kristen999 & everybetty
Author's Website: Kristen999's Fanfic Master List and Everybetty on ff.net
Link: Long Ago (And Far Away)

Why This Must Be Read: In this fantastically well-researched and believable historical AU, John's team are a recon crew in the Pacific theatre of WWII. (Teyla isn't actually on the crew as such -- it's 1944 -- but don't worry, she has a large role in the story and plenty of agency of her own.) This is the kind of long and lush story that you can just sink into -- the world feels absolutely real (complete with illustrations taken from period photos), and the characters are very believable in their AU roles as well as being the team we know and love. (There are even great cameos from several SG-1 characters.) And of course I'm reccing this in the h/c category, so without giving away spoilers, you can guess that things are going to go very, very bad before the story is done. Some of the violence might be a little hard to take, but it never felt gratuitous or voyeuristic to me; I felt that the authors did an excellent job of putting the characters through hell while being aware of the sensitive nature of the real-life events they were depicting. This is a story I keep returning to, time and again, to re-read choice bits and lose myself once again in their AU lives.

Storm Damage by Ceitie (R)

[sholio]

Show: Stargate Atlantis
Rec Category: John Sheppard & Rodney McKay friendship
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay (both female AU versions)
Pairing: none
Het/Slash/Gen: Gen
Warning: mentions of implied non-con; genderswitch AU
Author on LJ: ceitie
Author's Website: n/a
Link: Storm Damage

Why This Must Be Read: This story belongs to an AU in which Sheppard and McKay are, and have always been, women; Ford is the only guy on the team. It's a fascinating take on the aftermath of Storm/Eye that touches lightly but profoundly on the ways that the gender difference has influenced the two women's lives in different ways than their canon counterparts. There's a really fine line to walk in "always different" gender-change AUs, and I think ceitie does a wonderful job of avoiding gender essentialism while still indicating that life would have been different for a female Sheppard and McKay than for their canon counterparts. I really love the subtle characterization as well as the snarky supportiveness that apparently characterizes Sheppards and McKays in universes everywhere.

[Note: There are several other stories in this AU, some of which are gen and some aren't. The ones I'm aware of: Five Times Aiden Ford (Almost) Wished He Was on a Different Team, And One Time He Didn't (gen with some innuendo); Every Farthing of the Cost (somewhat gen-ish Emmagan/McKay/Sheppard); and Five Times Meredith McKay Came Out (mostly gennish, some McKay/OC, McKay/Brown)]