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[zoetrope]

Number of potatoes I just peeled: 12
Number of places of historical significance visited: 4,567,987
Number of great movies seen in the cinema: 1
Number of current WIPs: 5 (bad)

The lovely cincodemaygirl is staying with us at the moment. If you want to keep abreast of our travels, check out her holiday journal here.

And now, in my continuing efforts to suck everyone in the world into SG:A fandom, here are some recs. You lot who came to my house last week? Go forth and SG:A. Believe me, it grows on you *g*


Remember, the series is relatively young, so most - if not all - of these recs will have spoilers in one form or another. Especially as those of you who came round last Sunday have only seen one episode. They will suck you into the show, though *g*

Ok, first get your arse over to thefourthvine's Fandoms I Have Loved post, here. This is your homework.
I started reading SGA because of the fandom equivalent of a heavenly conjunction; suddenly three thousand FF writers, including 80% of my favourite ones, were writing stories in this fandom, causing massive orbital fluxes and gravitational anomalies.

Then go check out the journals of some of the key players: rageprufrock, astolat, julad. There are loads more, but those are the three I'd read everything by first.

To start, I'd read:
Oblivious, by astolat. All her stuff is amazing, but this story is - for me - the best example of her grasp of the Sheppard/McKay dynamic.
"Goddamnit, we are not dating!" John said angrily. "Will you stop acting like I'm your girlfriend in a coma?"

Also notable of hers is the recent epic Time In A Bottle.
They didn't deny themselves, followed their impulses or lingered over detours, whatever mood took them. They had the time.

Another classic is:
Thicker Than Water, by julad
Julad writes excellent McKay/Zelenka, and her story The Secret Life of Scientists has my favourite story opening possibly ever, but this is her classic McKay/Sheppard. A blissful interlude on earth.
"So I've written some papers reminding everyone of the gaping flaws in Robertson's theory," Rodney said, brusquely stripping their clothes off. "It'll be a few days before I get the reviews back. Want to come to Canada with me?"

In my opinion, the King of Atlantis fandom is:
Hindsight, by rageprufrock.
This is an AU, which is the only reason I didn't rec it first. Essentially, it takes us to the same world a different route. Without a doubt, this is my favourite story of any fandom. Read the above first, and when you're a bit more comfortable with the characters check this out. I read it early on in my fandom exploration, and it works as a beautiful, intense and romantic story in its own right.
John blinks, his mind hits the brakes, and it takes him a whole thirty seconds before he can say, "Are you asking me out?"

This list wouldn't be complete without your typical slave!fic:
Advantage, by resonant8
If SG:A is renowned for anything, it is the generally cracked-out nature of the fanfiction. This is the first story I read in SG:A fandom, and is as hot as the genre suggests - as well as being as well-executed and hot as anything by resonant8 always is.
In the end, Rodney had to actually go with him to the briefings, which were unimaginably tedious. Worse yet, he had to roll his head around to loosen up his neck muscles, and prevent himself from feeling tense and restless, because as soon as he did, Sheppard felt compelled to help, and nothing brought a military briefing to a halt faster than the commanding officer stopping to say, "Deep breaths, McKay."

The pre-series one:
Intersections, by kaneko
A beautifully done pre-series story that shows the developments of McKay and Sheppard's lives before they meet in Antarctica. Long, hot and tasty.
"Major John Sheppard. I'm your pilot," John shouts over the squalling wind. He holds out his hand automatically to shake, but the other guy doesn't reciprocate. After a moment of blinking, John realises it's because both the guy's hands are occupied - a giant chocolate bar in one, an apple in the other.

Finally, fandom recently exploded with a flashfic challenge entitled the Harlequin challenge. This is not for the faint hearted, but for those of you into that kind of thing, here is the list of 100 stories that were submitted to the challenge - many of them by some of fandoms best writers.

This is about a tenth of the amazing writing that is out there in this fandom, but hopefully is a good starter pack. Hope you enjoy :)