Frustrated birds and Weekend Recs. This Week: Old Guard, SGA, SG-1.
Sometimes I'm a little lax about making sure the birds have food. I've hung up a second jelly-feeder; they empty two -- that's about 12 ounces -- in approximately 24 hours. And I dump two sacs of milo seed -- 100 pounds -- at a time. It's been so dry that there's not a lot else for them to eat; that 100 pounds lasts about 3 days.
So I looked out about 4:00 P.M; both jelly bowls were empty and there wasn't a single milo seed left on the feeding-carpet. One little finch was hopping around and around the nectar feeder -- pecking at the walls, trying to get into that sweet red goodness inside. It's odd -- most of them seem to find the drinking holes with no problem, but this little guy seemed not to figure it out; he kept poking at one side, then he'd hop about 90 degrees and poke at the next wall, then the next, then the next...
Well, I put out filled jelly bowls, then backed the truck down the drive (I had two bags in the back) and dumped them on the carpet. But while I did that -- about 16 or 18 of the neighbor's chickens were waiting for the seed, and they crowded close around. I'm a little nervous around chickens -- I worry that they'll peck my legs. Usually they don't hang so close, but that time of the day is "stock up before sunset / bedtime". To make it worse, there are some new pygmy (?) types running around -- they're barely twice the size of a chick, but have adult feathering -- and they were very close to my feet; I was afraid of them getting under the falling grain and being injured.
But I successfully dumped all the seed without injuring any of them, or being injured myself. Then I drove back to the 'parking' spot by the garage -- all of 100 feet -- and came into the house to let everyone eat in peace.
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Fanwork Links: Running On Empty
Category: M/M
Rating: Mature
Length: 13,300 words
Summary: After seven months of giving the government and the terrorists the slip, Rodney has to come to terms with the past and try to figure out a way that his family can have a future together.
Reccer's Notes: Rodney's living on the down-low, trying to keep himself and John's young daughter out of the hands of [a] the bad guys and [b] the government agents who didn't prevent John's death. But of course the government eventually catches up with them. John's not dead after all -- but to ensure his family's security and freedom, Rodney will need to meet with the bad guys to take them down.
This non-Stargate story swings between flashbacks of John & Rodney's comfortable 'before' life -- getting to know each other, developing a relationship -- and the tension of Rodney living a hunted life, ready to bug out at any moment, only to be faced with more danger before they can all come out the other side. It's a thoroughly satisfying tale, with several "domestic" sequels, if you're interested.
Characters: John, Rodney, Teyla, Ronon, Sumner, Kolya, OCs
Relationships: John/Rodney
Themes: Getting back together, Kid Fic, AU - No Stargate, Action/Adventure, Angst, Hurt/Comfort
Content Notes: Grief for (presumed) death
Warnings: None
Status: Complete
Fandom: The Old Guard
Fanwork Links: hand in hand, we stumble and we fall
Category: Gen
Rating: Mature
Length: 5,900 words
Summary: Nile has been immortal for six years when one of their missions goes horribly, catastrophically bad. In the aftermath, none of them is functioning, their usual coping mechanisms gone haywire, and Nile doesn't like seeing her family like this. So she does the only thing she can think of. She texts Booker.
...the last piece of advice she expected from him was to have them play Monopoly.
Reccer's Notes: Family bonding through board games as a means of excising the pain of a FUBAR mission gives Nile great insight into a family/team that's still fairly new to her -- and helps her excise the pain, as well. Bonding and fun and feels and understanding... highly recommended.
Characters: Nile, Andy, Joe, Nicky, Booker, Quynh
Relationships: Joe/Nicky background; friendships all around
Themes: Team as family, Family feels, Emotional hurt/comfort, Friendship, Family bonding
Content Notes: non-specific descriptions of violence, gore, and death
Warnings: Choose not to use
Status: Complete
Fandom: Stargate Atlantis & SG-1
Fanwork Links: We’ve Taken Different Roads
Category: M/M and M/F
Rating: Explicit
Length: 11,200 words.
Summary: What if Rodney didn’t go to Atlantis and the city was lost again? Sheppard turns up as the second command of the SGC under Major General Jack O’Neill and after a year of watching the moody government contractor Dr. Rodney McKay... he decides to make some very personal changes in his life. First of a series -- 14 stories, 289,000 words.
Reccer's Notes: The first of a series of stories -- some short, some long -- that add up to a sweeping, epic tale of two men falling in love and making a life together. Rodney didn't go to Atlantis, and the expedition failed. John became Jack's X.O and Rodney owns/runs a local bar to alleviate the health pressures of too much work for the SGC. This first story is sweet and comfortable, but it pales in comparison to the grandeur of the entire series... and yet, there's nothing specific I can think of that makes it "grand". It really is just John and Rodney making a life together, negotiating around the bumps and roadblocks of working within and around the SGC, repeated attempts to kidnap Rodney, and their ever-growing circle of family, friends, and live-in guards. But seriously -- despite my inadequate description, it's a beautiful series, well worth the read.
Characters: Everyone in SGA and SG-1, plus OC's.
Relationships: John/Rodney, Jack/Sam, OC/OC.
Themes: Friends to lovers, AU - Canon divergence
Content Notes: None
Warnings: None
Status: Each story complete; series open for further additions.
Actually, although I consider this the "beginning" of the series, there are a couple of short prequels that help set it up. Here's the series page
and
Here's the lineup --
The Home Front (2,400 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2010/06/the-home-front/
Beautiful Stranger (1,600 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2010/06/beautiful-stranger/
We've Taken Different Roads (11,200 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/06/weve-taken-different-roads/
I Walk the Line (15,700 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/06/i-walk-the-line/
And Then There Was Quark (2,000 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2009/11/and-then-there-was-quark/
When You Say You Love Me (43,000 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/08/when-you-say-you-love-me-part-one/
When You Kiss Me (40,600 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/09/when-you-kiss-me-part-one/
An Intimate Portrait (4,300 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2009/11/an-intimate-portrait-with-dr-rodney-mckay-and-colonel-john-sheppard-by-iris-march/
February Song (16,000 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/09/february-song/
Keep Me Awake (12,800 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/09/keep-me-awake/
A Wild and Wicked Wind (22,600 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/09/a-wild-and-wicked-wind-part-one/
My Wish For You (23,100 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2008/09/my-wish-for-you-part-one/
You're Where I Belong (22,200 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2009/03/youre-where-i-belong-part-one/
More Than Words (41,300 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2009/06/more-than-words-part-one/
And the Stars Burn (31,800 words) http://keiramarcos.com/2011/02/ring-of-fire-and-the-stars-burn/
Please comment on the Dreamwidth side.