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SGA rec: Intergalactic Topology for Beginners by ladyofthelog
Rodney/Teyla, Torren; humor/snapshots/romance, PG; 1410 words
Summary: Rodney can't help but appreciate Teyla's facility with knots. On a purely academic level, of course.

The Hunters by To Be Revealed
gen (with just a hint of Jennifer/Rodney UST); PG-13; Jennifer, Teyla, Rodney, OCs; action-adventure; set early S5; ~26,500 words
Summary: On a diplomatic mission, Rodney, Jennifer and Teyla are overnight guests in a cliffside fortress. When darkness falls, an attack leaves Rodney a severely injured prisoner, and Jennifer and Teyla must get him back -- even if it means braving the lethal catacombs beneath the fortress with nothing but a couple of P90s plus wits, skill and luck.

I'd been feeling a little disconnected from SGA lately but this story restored my squee instantly. I love the author's take on the characters. The fic's got all my favorite things: Teyla and Jennifer kick ass (while saving Rodney's) in a gripping underground adventure setting with action, compelling OCs, and a creepy, scary enemy. (If anyone remembers that old C64 computer game "Impossible mission"... there's a scene in the fic that gave me flashbacks to a particularly nerve-wrecking part in that game. /digresses)

spreading the word: Sign ups for the sga_genficathon are open until Friday, Feb. 26. Stories are due Saturday, May 22.
Info and signup form, prompt list
You can now choose to pick your own prompt or have one randomly assigned. Stories should be at least 1000 words long (no upper word limit) and will be posted anonymously by the mods (authors to be revealed at end of ficathon).

Genficathon is my all-time favorite ficathon so I hope sign-ups will be plentiful! :o)

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fic recs x-posted from stargategenrec:
Squonksgiving by friendshipper
gen; G; team; humor, crack; 1,800 words
Summary: Sometimes John just gets a feeling that this is going to be yet another day that's not going in the mission report.
Why rec'd? This fic is seriously hysterical. I just read it for the second time, and I was again giggling the whole time. The team are offworld and confronted with yet another alien custom. How will Atlantis' finest deal with this challenge?

Piece by Piece by friendshipper
gen; G; Characters: Teyla and ensemble; Spoilers for major events through all five seasons; 4,900 words
Summary: Teyla makes an afghan, and Atlantis learns to crochet. Seasons one through early five.
Why rec'd? This is a beautiful Teyla fic that spans the entire past five years... everything she has lost, the friends and the home she has found. Just like the zhadani blanket that Teyla is making, this fic is made of many little details and snippets that together make a whole.

Lullabies in a Minor Key by penknife
gen; Rodney, Jeannie; ~4500 words
summary: Rodney and Jeannie backstory. It's not exactly family harmony.

A really intriguing look at Rodney and Jeannie growing up. I love the way their relationship is explored in flashbacks, frozen moments of their family history that paint a clear picture. Wonderful character study with plausible backstory.

Cheating the Other Guy by sholio
gen; PG; Teyla & Sam; 2000 words
Summary: Sam and Teyla find themselves in a Western. Sort of. And Teyla seems to have accidentally sold her teammates to buy a ranch, but who can blame her.

x-posted from stargategenrec:
Truth in Action by tridget
gen; PG; post-“Trinity”; Characters: Rodney, John, Ronon, Teyla, Lorne; ~ 13,600 words
Summary: The Doranda disaster was just the beginning of trouble for Rodney.
why rec'd: This story deals with the aftermath of the Doranda debacle in a way I really like (not being a fan of YABS fic...) I find Rodney's and John' s reactions believable - Rodney driven by guilt and ending up working himself into the ground in his desire to make things right... I can see that happen. The whump is well written.

What I like a lot is that Tridget doesn't ignore what else happened in the episode - Ronon abused Teyla's trust too, after all, and must be dealing with similar feelings as Rodney. I really enjoyed reading the moments between the two teammates - my favorite part. All in all, this story rounds off the episode well.

The Long Star Mile by Blue Shadowdancer / frith_in_thorns
gen; PG-13; Characters: Mostly Rodney and John, some team; ~26,000 words
Summary: There is a lot of space between the stars, and it's a lot of space to be alone in. Injured, McKay and Sheppard are just trying to get home, but the galaxy isn't a kindly place...
why rec'd: This is a really enjoyable friendship fic with suspense and action; well-written and with great character voices.

Absolutely lovely SGA fic by penknife:
A is for Atlantis, an alphabet book, by John Sheppard (with the unasked-for assistance of Rodney McKay and Ronon Dex)

Just... perfect! Atlantis in a nutshell.

Also by penknife:
Three Lessons in Athosian History
gen (Teyla and OCs); ~1500 words.
Summary: All this has happened before, and all this will happen again.

An exploration of Athosian backstory that makes the Pegasus galaxy feel just a bit more real. I got goosebumps reading it.

(General rule: just go to penknife's LJ and browse her fic links, and you shall be well entertained. :)

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poll: friendshipper has a cunning plan: But! I have an idea! What about kicking off 2010 with "100 Days of Episode Tags"?

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linkage: via koalathebear: Fox 5's Ernie Anastos tells weatherman to 'Keep f---ing that chicken' on the air
Worth alone for seeing the expression on his co-anchor's face...

I made a story illustration for tipper_green's The Black Lake:

( pic behind the cut... bit spoilerish, but more of a teaser than a story spoiler )

Preview:

(another x-post from genrec... there's just been an abundance of great gen recently, thanks to genficathon.)
Title: The Black Lake by tipper_green
gen; team plus Keller; Rating: K+; action/adventure; h/c; ~27,740 words
Warnings: none. *
Summary: Things go belly up (because they always go belly up) on a rescue mission to save an SGA team stuck deep underground and running out of air.

Why rec'd: I was squeeing when I saw this posted, because, well, action-adventure teamfic-plus-Keller is one of my favorites. And I wasn't disappointed... this story put me in a great mood.:)

This was written for sga_genficathon for the prompt The journey of a thousand miles sometimes ends very, very badly, and it's a great, creatively literal take on the prompt. The setting feels genuinely alien and very scary; there's a constant sense of danger that makes for a gripping read. I love the characterization; particularly Teyla and Jennifer get to shine (but the guys get plenty of airtime, too). The dialogue could come right out of the show, it's spot on.

*(unless you have a problem with Keller being well-written, kick-ass, and central to the story. Then this fic may not be for you. But please, please, don't comment there telling the author she shouldn't have given Keller a prominent role. Some of us *like* seeing her in a prominent role, okay? There's plenty of fic where she's marginalized or not in at all; why begrudge us fans the few stories where she gets to be awesome and part of the action.)

Yesterday I was feeling weirdly blah all day, and I didn't get any work or fanart done. I think the sudden drop in temperature sent my body in some sort of proto-hibernation. So in the evening I gave up and popped in my DVD of A Dog's Breakfast, which I hadn't gotten around to watching. I must say, I really liked it! The blah mood evaporated. It's got some very funny lines. And I found myself liking the characters. (From the scenes I'd seen, I somehow expected to dislike them a lot... more like Seinfeld, which I liked to watch even though I disliked every one of those characters.)

Definitely worth buying the DVD! It's got a load of extras and behind-the-scenes stuff, too. And practically all the cast are Stargate actors. Anyway, on my way to the gym just now I got hit with an idea for A Dog's Breakfast fanart. :O)

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more recs originally posted to stargategenrec/ficrec:
A Time to Heal by wildcat88
Rodney/Jennifer; PG; Spoilers for S4 through TLM; 3200 words
Summary: Circumstances and a three week journey put everything in a different light.
Why rec'd: This is a missing scene fic from The Last Man that is true to character for both, shows their relationship grow in a very believable manner, and fits seamlessly into the episode. It was just what I was looking for after watching that ep.

The ATA Affair by [To Be Revealed]
gen; PG-13; AU; characters: team, various SG-1 and SGA cast in supporting roles; ~26,000 words
Summary: Written for sga_genficathon. Two of the S.G.C.'s top secret agents, Teyla Emmagan and Rodney McKay, are sent to the Casino Atlantis to investigate the suspicious business dealings of John Sheppard...
Why rec'd: This story is great fun! A fascinating Spy!AU that's plausible in itself, with pitch-perfect characterizations and gripping plot. Rodey and Teyla make a great team, and Ronon and John are quite mysterious. I love how it all plays out in the end. I'd read more in this verse!

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Why can't I change the colors for my Dreamwidth style? ( Read more... )

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I have five Dreamwidth invites; does anybody still need one?

I've been having a great time reading through the various entries for the Rodney/Teyla Thing-a-Thon. Here's another story I thought was really cool - but check out the Sticks and Snark Masterlist, because they're seriously all worth reading!

This one is a total AU that features Rodney and Teyla as a married couple who investigate supernatural phenomena. (Other Stargate characters make an appearance, too.) It's a plotty action/adventure/monster story, and it's a lot of fun to read. Apart from the cool plot and universe, I thoroughly enjoyed how the partnership between those two was written.

In the Hollow Tree by ishie
Rodney/Teyla; PG-13; 16,000 words

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This ficathon was so much fun... I'm very very tentatively considering the idea of doing something like this either for Sam/Rodney or for Rodney/Jennifer. I might set up a poll sometime in the future to see if there'd be enough interest for either of these two. In any case I'm thinking friendship as well as ship and pre-ship, to cast an as large net as possible. But anyway, first I have to see how time-consuming my next job is going to get.

( work: Inking's done! )

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fic rec:
Midwinter Burning by rhymer23
gen; PG, Team (Teyla POV); Spoilers through 4x10 This Mortal Coil; 3700 words
Summary: Teyla persuades her team to celebrate midwinter, and to find some hope in the darkness.

Browsing through my to-rec folder... A winter solstice story is maybe a weird choice to rec at spring time, but hey, it fits my mood and the themes come across no matter the season. I found this quiet story very powerful, with an overlaying sense of melancholy and of hope. A really beautiful, moving team story.