Stargate Atlantis - 13 Recs

[recsforalloccasions]

And in the spirit of really good fic, I offer my favorites from sga_santa 2005

ETA: Now edited to include author names.

The Road to Nevada by lamardeuse - An instant favorite. I was awake until nearly 7am finishing this story last night/this morning, I just couldn't put it down. A gloriously long and complicated AU set in 1938, in which John is a pilot and WWI veteran and Rodney is a genius aircraft designer with some interesting secrets. There are fantastic appearances from everyone under the sun, including an Elizabeth Weir who appears to have stepped straight out of My Man Godfrey and a wonderful twist on the Athosians. The story is fast-paced and twisty and the changing relationship between John and Rodney is sexy and complex and damn-near perfect. I especially love the John we see here, he bears the marks of his time and experiences but at his core he's the canon John through and through.

Team Spirit by msgordo - A neat take on Ronon and Rodney's initial relationship that seques into a sweet and convincing Ronon/Rodney. I partiularly like this take on what Ronon's first weeks in Atlantis might have been like, with the shadow of Ford still on everyone's mind.

Through a Glass Darkly by rosewildeirish - A beautiful, bittersweet McKay/Zelenka story with an unexpected yet perfectly realized twist. All the characters are so utterly real here, especially Radek, Rodney and John, which makes the emotional impact of the story all the more powerful.

Flawed by mandysbitch - A fantastic look at Rodney in the aftermath of Trinity seamlessly blended with a developing McKay/Sheppard relationship and an original plot that is the emotional heart of the story. The disparate threads of the story are blended together into a seamless thematic whole as complex and intriguing as Rodney himself.

The Taste of Maybe by kat_lair - I love slow-burning stories, watching the gradual shifting from friendship into something more. Here we get to watch McKay and Zelenka's relationship shift subtly beneath them over the course of a series of shared late-night snacks. The shared meals are the perfect impetus for the changing relationship and offer a lovely glimpse into Rodney and Radek's working relationship as well.

Cinderella Before Midnight by voleuse - A series of linked vignettes -- none over 200 words -- each offering a glimpse of life on Atlantis as experienced by a different character. Beautiful, lyrical prose that really captures the essence of each viewpoint character.

In the Margins by wisdomeagle - Rodney and Elizabeth's relationship -- from the first planning stages of the Atlantis expedition through to an unknown point in the future -- as told in the bits and pieces and moments around the edges of the larger story. A complex and intricate relationship is revealed in scraps of conversation, letters and thoughts which manage in their brevity to paint a sharp and believable picture of their life, sketching in just enough detail to allow the reader to glimpse all the unwritten bits in between.

Thrill Ride by cupidsbow - a spine-tingling, brain-meltingly hot first time McKay/Sheppard story. And part of what makes it so hot is the dialogue, each line razor-sharp and so perfect I can hear John and Rodney's voices in my head.

A Little Faith by trixiesfic - This is a difficult story to rec because it's brilliance is in the way it reveals itself. A cleverly-constructed story about faith and trust and the working of miracles with a subtle seasonal twist.

Seachange by alyse - A beautifully wraught coda to The Storm/The Eye, focusing on Rodney and John and Elizabeth in the immediate aftermath of the episodes. I didn't know it, but I'd been waiting for a story like this since I first saw those episodes.

The Bee-Charmer by hth_the_first - A lovely, wonderfully-fleshed out exploration of Ronon's background and his struggle to find a place on Atlantis and in relation to the Athosians, as seen through Teyla's eyes. The characterizations of Ronon and Teyla are spot-on and flesh them out beyond the limited roles we see them in on the show. I especially love how Teyla's perception of Ronon evolves as she observes him and his interactions with her people.

Night Spirits by eretria - In the aftermath of a mission gone disasterously wrong, the survivors come together, drawing strength from each other as they each deal with their grief and anger in their own way. The author manages to capture both the fierce individualism of all of these characters and the strong bonds that have grown between them. It's a lovely, quiet story with a powerful emotional punch.

And In That Dreaming Weep by tielan - A look at John through Teyla's eyes, and at his dreams, both sleeping and awake. The intimacy between them is subtly and believably drawn and ultimately serves to highlight the distance between them.