Rec: Fake Birds and Real Holidays, by xparrot [SGA, gen]
And a few more recs that were originally posted on stargateficrec, specifically my April recs for John Sheppard. I'm re-posting them here because I like having all of my recs in one place. Again, if this is your second time seeing these recs...go on, read the stories again! You know you want to! :)
Title: Fake Birds and Real Holidays
Author: xparrot
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG
Length: ~8,300 words
Genre: Humor (sweet), moments of mild angst
Also recced at: Stargateficrec
Summary: The team descends on the Miller household. No turkeys were harmed in the making of this story. Much to Rodney and Ronon's disappointment.
Comments:
This story was recently posted as part of the sga_flashfic's Family challenge, and it immediately struck a chord with me. It's a gen fic, which I very rarely read, but it was marvelously done. The basic premise is that John, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon are all put on mandatory leave around Canadian Thanksgiving, and Jeannie invites them to stay and spend the holiday with her family. It felt like an actual SGA episode (one of the good ones), with banter and caring and veering between humor and sadness, but somehow they all make it through until the end. The voices of all of the characters were pitch-perfect, and the multiple Canadian vs. American arguments made me laugh out loud. It is a beautiful rendition of what family can be, both birth and chosen (and shows us that without forcing the sweetness down our throats).
This fic is who John Sheppard is. This is who his family is.
Excerpt:
Madison stood up on the couch to peer over the back at Teyla, in the kitchen in conversation with her mother. They'd been introduced when they first came in, after John had given her the requisite airplane ride and Ronon had spun her upside down. "This is Teyla," Rodney had told his niece; "Hello," Madison had solemnly said, and Teyla had said, "Hello," just as solemnly back.
Madison had stared up at her without another word, and stared again now for a good minute, before she tugged on Rodney's sleeve and informed her uncle, "Teyla is very beautiful."
"Yes, isn't she?" Rodney said absently, paging through a recent issue of Maclean's; and then, looking up as his sister and his teammate came into the living room, "-I mean. Um. Yes, Teyla's a very. Um. Don't kill me?"
"I perhaps will not, Rodney," Teyla said evenly.
"Maybe just maiming," Jeannie said, and then they looked at each other and giggled, a sound which shook John to the core. He'd seen Teyla after four cups of ruus wine and she still didn't giggle. What had they been talking about in the kitchen just now? He'd have to check with Ronon.
Title: Fake Birds and Real Holidays
Author: xparrot
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Pairing: Gen
Rating: PG
Length: ~8,300 words
Genre: Humor (sweet), moments of mild angst
Also recced at: Stargateficrec
Summary: The team descends on the Miller household. No turkeys were harmed in the making of this story. Much to Rodney and Ronon's disappointment.
Comments:
This story was recently posted as part of the sga_flashfic's Family challenge, and it immediately struck a chord with me. It's a gen fic, which I very rarely read, but it was marvelously done. The basic premise is that John, Rodney, Teyla and Ronon are all put on mandatory leave around Canadian Thanksgiving, and Jeannie invites them to stay and spend the holiday with her family. It felt like an actual SGA episode (one of the good ones), with banter and caring and veering between humor and sadness, but somehow they all make it through until the end. The voices of all of the characters were pitch-perfect, and the multiple Canadian vs. American arguments made me laugh out loud. It is a beautiful rendition of what family can be, both birth and chosen (and shows us that without forcing the sweetness down our throats).
This fic is who John Sheppard is. This is who his family is.
Excerpt:
Madison stood up on the couch to peer over the back at Teyla, in the kitchen in conversation with her mother. They'd been introduced when they first came in, after John had given her the requisite airplane ride and Ronon had spun her upside down. "This is Teyla," Rodney had told his niece; "Hello," Madison had solemnly said, and Teyla had said, "Hello," just as solemnly back.
Madison had stared up at her without another word, and stared again now for a good minute, before she tugged on Rodney's sleeve and informed her uncle, "Teyla is very beautiful."
"Yes, isn't she?" Rodney said absently, paging through a recent issue of Maclean's; and then, looking up as his sister and his teammate came into the living room, "-I mean. Um. Yes, Teyla's a very. Um. Don't kill me?"
"I perhaps will not, Rodney," Teyla said evenly.
"Maybe just maiming," Jeannie said, and then they looked at each other and giggled, a sound which shook John to the core. He'd seen Teyla after four cups of ruus wine and she still didn't giggle. What had they been talking about in the kitchen just now? He'd have to check with Ronon.