Recs
Okay, what is up with Monday? There were SOOOOO many fics. I still haven't gotten through all of them. But if you're as lost in the sea of fiction as I am, um, here're some life preservers:
Until the Stars Are All Alight by Reccea
So it's a Tolkien/SGA xover (or something fantasish). I love the descriptions employed here and the differences laid out, the language and how 'what' John is can so easily color a story (perhaps I keep thinking this with my current SGA/HP project). I especially like the way forgiveness and the events of trinity are dealt with.
I do have a problem with it, however. It's the same problem that plagues most John is an X, Rodney is a Y stories. It's not in fact a story at all, but a very detailed and deft description, that sets up a new view on the character, even a new understanding, but doesn't really have much in ways of plot.
In other words - I think this is awesome, but it's a beginning and not an end.
A Slightly Different Quality of Light by pru
Here's a really cool premise, again executed far better by virtue of the medium of writing. I like the subtle nature of John and Rodney's relationship. I like how each memory really evokes a feeling. Mostly I like the intimacy of this story. Rodney sees something very intimate about John and that feeling (through quality of writing) is shared with the audience.
The one downside is the fact that this fic does a great job of raising more questions than it answers (not that I'd know anything about that ;-) ). I like that pru decided to focus on the intimacy of the fic and on Rodney's experience, but I think a concept like this could also benefit from a wider explication (I'd even be willing to write it): What does Elizabeth know to make the decision she does - how does she pick who gets to see John's memories? What about John when he wakes up? He's a very private person, how can he deal with this? And what about his relationship with Rodney? I'm of the opinion that relationships must be between equals, but Rodney knows him now almost as well as he knows himself. What about his memory? Does not having all of it recovered change who he is? In the end, I felt like it was a good choice as a writer to stop where the author did (the emotional arc is complete and the focus of the story is rounded off), but as a reader, I can't help but feel a little cheated (it is, after all, a lot easier on the writer to end the story there).
Shakespeare in the Bush by 2ndary_author
Mostly, what I like about this story is the way it highlights the cultural differences between the people from earth and those of pegasus. The stories a society tells show us a lot about that society and I think the idea of exhamining that through fairytales is pretty damned cool. Also, I liked the Team interaction here.
Insect Hole by lavvyan
So, this concept has been done before (possibly from the dawn of time). It's also been done in SGA. I don't remember the titles or the authors, but there was one in which there were children and another with a plastic dollhouse. Makes this story different is the POV. The OC created here isn't just a recreation of human beings and the way we treat out pets, but rather as a truly alien entity. It clearly has a different value system, and even at the end, when it might seem the most human, there's still a different quality to it.
Spiral by ladycat777
In general, I dislike this kind of AU (in which they are going to school or in the old west or in world war II), because it's plug and play. That's not to say that they aren't well written, as this story and the one that it's a companion piece to are well written, just not anywhere outside the realm of cliche.
What I liked about the second piece is the reversal of the first. I think that in How to Have a Relationship Without Even Trying, we say awww, how cute, isn't that sweet how John pines for Rodney and they get together and live happily ever after and Rodney has his big gay revelation and sees John as the perfect man . . . blah, blah, blah.
What Spiral does is to make us question those attitudes (go back and play the romantic comedy back only this time we're Matthew McConaghy in 'How to lose a guy in ten days' and we don't think it's cute, or we're Harry in when Harry met Sally and we're proven right that men and women can't be friends, even when we thought that we'd finally, thankfully, been proven wrong) and . . . well, it doesn't seem like such a happy ending anymore.
Rodney was using John from the beginning and even though John likes being used, we see how that pattern of behavior (encouraged by John) won't ever really break. And that feels so much more real and so much *better* then the cliched 'happily ever after.'
Monday Mourning by MrsHamill
So, the title is a horrible, horrible pun. Other than this, the fic is amazing. I like all of the possible outcomes, situations just as plausible when things could have turned out differently. I'm not sure how I feel about the McShep here actually. I think it might actually weaken the story - shift the focus to the two of them instead of the idea of fate and accidental tragedies and mourning and put it on a new relationship. I like that the author certainly didn't make the McShep the focus, but adding it in makes the split between the first and last parts much more abrupt.
As someone who's stories tend to make people's hearts clench and hope for a happy ending (that may or may not materialize) I found it fun to be on the other side for once. It's actually pretty difficult ;-)
I really wish I'd had the idea to do this one. It's brilliant.
Ties by Yin
I love team stories. I love Teyla stories. I love stories about the population dynamics and how Pegasus cultures have to adjust. This fic does them all so very brilliantly. The writing is succinct and the point is clear. I also like how though the situation was angst-worthy, the drama was minimized in a very Teyla fashion. The audience can still feel for her but without making her less of the strong proud woman that we see on the show
Wraithling Tales by Perryvic
This fic is amazing. The language and the mythology created for ther Wratih really do resemble our own fairy tales, but with the logic of the Wraith. And it is wonderful to see events from the show through a different POV. I can't really say how cool this is. If I could only have read one fic from this batch of recs, this would be it.
Until the Stars Are All Alight by Reccea
So it's a Tolkien/SGA xover (or something fantasish). I love the descriptions employed here and the differences laid out, the language and how 'what' John is can so easily color a story (perhaps I keep thinking this with my current SGA/HP project). I especially like the way forgiveness and the events of trinity are dealt with.
I do have a problem with it, however. It's the same problem that plagues most John is an X, Rodney is a Y stories. It's not in fact a story at all, but a very detailed and deft description, that sets up a new view on the character, even a new understanding, but doesn't really have much in ways of plot.
In other words - I think this is awesome, but it's a beginning and not an end.
A Slightly Different Quality of Light by pru
Here's a really cool premise, again executed far better by virtue of the medium of writing. I like the subtle nature of John and Rodney's relationship. I like how each memory really evokes a feeling. Mostly I like the intimacy of this story. Rodney sees something very intimate about John and that feeling (through quality of writing) is shared with the audience.
The one downside is the fact that this fic does a great job of raising more questions than it answers (not that I'd know anything about that ;-) ). I like that pru decided to focus on the intimacy of the fic and on Rodney's experience, but I think a concept like this could also benefit from a wider explication (I'd even be willing to write it): What does Elizabeth know to make the decision she does - how does she pick who gets to see John's memories? What about John when he wakes up? He's a very private person, how can he deal with this? And what about his relationship with Rodney? I'm of the opinion that relationships must be between equals, but Rodney knows him now almost as well as he knows himself. What about his memory? Does not having all of it recovered change who he is? In the end, I felt like it was a good choice as a writer to stop where the author did (the emotional arc is complete and the focus of the story is rounded off), but as a reader, I can't help but feel a little cheated (it is, after all, a lot easier on the writer to end the story there).
Shakespeare in the Bush by 2ndary_author
Mostly, what I like about this story is the way it highlights the cultural differences between the people from earth and those of pegasus. The stories a society tells show us a lot about that society and I think the idea of exhamining that through fairytales is pretty damned cool. Also, I liked the Team interaction here.
Insect Hole by lavvyan
So, this concept has been done before (possibly from the dawn of time). It's also been done in SGA. I don't remember the titles or the authors, but there was one in which there were children and another with a plastic dollhouse. Makes this story different is the POV. The OC created here isn't just a recreation of human beings and the way we treat out pets, but rather as a truly alien entity. It clearly has a different value system, and even at the end, when it might seem the most human, there's still a different quality to it.
Spiral by ladycat777
In general, I dislike this kind of AU (in which they are going to school or in the old west or in world war II), because it's plug and play. That's not to say that they aren't well written, as this story and the one that it's a companion piece to are well written, just not anywhere outside the realm of cliche.
What I liked about the second piece is the reversal of the first. I think that in How to Have a Relationship Without Even Trying, we say awww, how cute, isn't that sweet how John pines for Rodney and they get together and live happily ever after and Rodney has his big gay revelation and sees John as the perfect man . . . blah, blah, blah.
What Spiral does is to make us question those attitudes (go back and play the romantic comedy back only this time we're Matthew McConaghy in 'How to lose a guy in ten days' and we don't think it's cute, or we're Harry in when Harry met Sally and we're proven right that men and women can't be friends, even when we thought that we'd finally, thankfully, been proven wrong) and . . . well, it doesn't seem like such a happy ending anymore.
Rodney was using John from the beginning and even though John likes being used, we see how that pattern of behavior (encouraged by John) won't ever really break. And that feels so much more real and so much *better* then the cliched 'happily ever after.'
Monday Mourning by MrsHamill
So, the title is a horrible, horrible pun. Other than this, the fic is amazing. I like all of the possible outcomes, situations just as plausible when things could have turned out differently. I'm not sure how I feel about the McShep here actually. I think it might actually weaken the story - shift the focus to the two of them instead of the idea of fate and accidental tragedies and mourning and put it on a new relationship. I like that the author certainly didn't make the McShep the focus, but adding it in makes the split between the first and last parts much more abrupt.
As someone who's stories tend to make people's hearts clench and hope for a happy ending (that may or may not materialize) I found it fun to be on the other side for once. It's actually pretty difficult ;-)
I really wish I'd had the idea to do this one. It's brilliant.
Ties by Yin
I love team stories. I love Teyla stories. I love stories about the population dynamics and how Pegasus cultures have to adjust. This fic does them all so very brilliantly. The writing is succinct and the point is clear. I also like how though the situation was angst-worthy, the drama was minimized in a very Teyla fashion. The audience can still feel for her but without making her less of the strong proud woman that we see on the show
Wraithling Tales by Perryvic
This fic is amazing. The language and the mythology created for ther Wratih really do resemble our own fairy tales, but with the logic of the Wraith. And it is wonderful to see events from the show through a different POV. I can't really say how cool this is. If I could only have read one fic from this batch of recs, this would be it.