Stargate Fic Recommendations

Show: SGA
Rec Category: AU - specifically, with alien worldbuilding.
Characters: John Sheppard, Ronon Dex, Melena Dex
Categories: Gen (friendship relationships John & Ronon, John & Melena, canon het relationship Ronon/Melena)
Warnings: This is post-apocalyptic for Atlantis, so we have to assume maybe everyone died except John, but that's not ever explicit. There's canon-typical violence in one story when the unit's on a mission. 
Author on DW: vain_glorious
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: The Divide'verse series on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: The Divide'verse series is 4 sequential stories, a total of about 23,000 words, in which vain_glorious  has flipped canon, and John's the runner who's lost everything, found offworld by Ronon who's a military unit leader from a thriving Sateda which hasn't been culled. The author weaves in typical canon plot lines, but reversed - John joins Ronon's unit, and as below, Tyre has Ford's role, and later there's a scare with Kirsan fever. I love this series as we see Sateda's culture in detail - similar to but different from Earth, technologically advanced and complex. I'm a sucker for Satedan worldbuilding, and this series really delivers. The story of John slowly recovering and making Sateda his home in his own quirky way is gripping and satisfying, with some lovely found family feels with Ronon and Melena. The series is marked WIP but there's good closure at the end, and it's complete as it is. I also love the way this reversal brings home the horror of what Ronon went through, in a much more powerful way than canon ever managed. 

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Show: SGA
Rec Category: AU - specifically, cut off from Earth.
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay and many others, as below.
Categories: Het. Note that Dossier calls it Gen, and of course there are many views of what constitutes "Gen". I'll just say that both Rodney and John are in established relationships with OFCs by the end of the story, so I don't think it's Gen, myself, and readers who need John and Rodney to be together should be aware of the other, het pairings.
Warnings: There are character deaths, even of main canon characters, but not John or Rodney.
Author on DW: dossier
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: East of the Sun, West of the Moon on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: At 145,393 words, this is a novel-length feat of extraordinary world-building. It starts with the theme I'm reccing this month - in that the story diverges from canon during "The Intruder" (S2E2) when John and Rodney fail to eradicate the Wraith computer virus in the rogue dart, and the Daedalus crashes on a hitherto unknown planet with no Gate and is stranded there. So this isn't the whole expedition being cut off, just everyone who was on the Daedalus, or who made it through the crash, anyway. The story is a detailed account of their survival and exploration of the new planet and the culture they find there, how they acculturate - or don't - and how John, Rodney and many others make it their home.

If you like Sheppard-centric stories this is for you, although Rodney has an important role as well, as do others who happened to be on that Daedalus trip, like Elizabeth, Lorne, Carson and Caldwell. The flavour is rather Islamic, from the style of names and words in the local language. But there's also a Dune-like feel, as the place where they crash is largely desert, and John develops special abilities linked to his Ancient heritage and becomes the "Chosen One", tied to the planet and its people. Despite this, the characterisations are complex and well done, and John changes a lot across the years the story covers, or rather, he's changed by the world, Dominat, and its people. The big strength of this story is the extraordinarily detailed world-building of the planet's culture and people, which is managed naturally and without noticeable info-dumps. I found it a gripping and fascinating read. It's an older fic, archived at the AO3 well after initially being posted, so it has few comments or kudos there. It deserves a lot more.

Note that it was reccd 12 years ago by sholio in the John Sheppard category, so here's a link to sholio's rec, as there's more and better-expressed praise for this story there. Just don't use the defunct link there - use the AO3 one above. The AO3 fic is titled "Chapter One" but it's the whole story in 24 chapters. There's a second in the series, but it's very different, is Elizabeth-focused, and is about grief and the assassination of her daughter, so be warned.


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Show: SGA
Rec Category: AU - specifically, cut-off-from-Earth / Forming a new colony
Characters/pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Jennifer Keller/Rodney McKay, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Radek, Lorne, et al.
Categories: Het and slash
Warnings: Character deaths, this being an apocafic - mostly off-screen and not John, Rodney, Teyla or Ronon.
Author on DW: n/a
Author's Website: As Brighid on AO3
Link: That Will Break You on the Wayback archive. Just under 40,000 words. 
Why This Must Be Read: A new and invincible enemy, the Rephame, appear in the Milky Way and the galaxy falls, with the last survivors fleeing to Atlantis. John's forced to take charge and the expedition and refugees are on the run, forming a colony elsewhere in Pegasus. Excellent writing and gripping storytelling - an often heart-breaking journey for Rodney and John, but ultimately a happy ending. Written for McShep Match. 

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Show: SGA
Rec Category: Het fics
Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard, the usual SGA suspects
Categories: F/M
Warnings: Nil
Author on DW: sabinelagrande
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: The Goddamned Genderswap series on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This series of shortish stories is a lot of fun, and, being written by sabinelagrande, very hot! Rodney is Meredith and she's always been female, but otherwise the stories mostly follow canon. They've got romance, true love, drama, angst, adventure, and humour. Very much recommended.

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Show: SGA
Rec Category: Het fics
Characters: Rodney McKay/John Sheppard
Categories: F/M
Warnings: Nil
Author on DW: torch
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: Nearer to the Miracle on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: This is a short established relationship genderswap fic where presumably some bit of ancient tech has changed Rodney into a woman. I love it because it’s a brief sex scene but it’s one of the most sensual stories I know, while still perfectly capturing their characters. Torch uses a great style with long, almost stream of consciousness sentences which add to the hot, dreamy mood. 

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Show: SGA
Rec Category: Het (the dreaded het! But of course I'm going to cheat freely in my interpretation)
Characters: Rodney McKay/John or Joan Sheppard, Teyla Emmagan, Ronon Dex, Richard Woolsey, Jennifer Keller, Radek Zelenka, Evan Lorne, etc.
Categories: F/M and M/M
Warnings: Nil
Author on DW: mhalachai  
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: Rosemary, for Remembrance on AO3 (and as in the comments, vicki_rae  has pointed out there's a sequel, which is ALSO GREAT: Forgetting What I Never Knew, on LJ) And the sequel is now on AO3!
Why This Must Be Read: This is not of course pure het, but as a genderbending fic, there are lots of interesting contrasts between Sheppard as a woman and as a man, and her, or his, developing relationship with Rodney - given impetus as it turns out Rodney's the only one other than Sheppard who's aware of the changes. In this story Sheppard's sometimes male and sometimes female, thanks (probably) to those wacky Ancients again. There's angst and drama and an eventual resolution, and it's an excellent read. 

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Show: SGA
Rec Category: Crack (taken seriously)
Characters: John Sheppard/Jennifer Keller, Carson Beckett, Rodney McKay/Katie Brown, et al
Categories: Het
Warnings: Author warns for rape/non-con. This refers to a forced John/Cadman AMTDI blow job before the story and it's just mentioned - no details. The later encounters "for medicine" aren't non-con, although John doesn't feel he has much choice.
Author on DW: trophic  
Author's Website: See the AO3
Link: The One With The Healing Cock on AO3
Why This Must Be Read: Another story in which a cracky trope - the magical healing cock - is given a kind-of serious pseudo-scientific (and kinky) treatment. Once again, some pesky bit of Ancient tech has its way with John, and it turns out his semen can now heal almost anything. A totally whacked premise, but trophic explores how shitty that would be for John, with his "leave no man (or woman) behind" issues. He can't just say no and leave one of the scientists, or one of his marines, dying of something he could fix, right? But it's hard to get it up under that kind of pressure which is where Jen Keller comes in. I like the way this story explores how this seeming magical power is the worst kind of bind for John, with Carson ethically blinkered, focused only on John saving patients. I also like how it makes the Sheppard/Keller pairing work - for me, anyway - I know it won't be everyone's cup of tea. But for those willing to try a rarepair with Jen as a gentle dom, this is highly recommended. 

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