Templum Bellonae

Oh my god, I love this story! John is a robot.

SGA fandom kicks so much ass.

The Difference Engine by Sam Starbuck

A fairly short, slightly angsty, delightfully romantic piece of fluff. In an attempt to put a halt to a demonic investment scheme, Spike takes part in a plan Xander hates.

Lt. Uhura and the Change of Life by Witling

Years after Chosen, Spike and Xander are both helping Buffy to train a houseful of slayers, when a somewhat traumatic event causes Xander to reevaluate his life. And Spike to come up with a cunning plan.

This story is nice and light, without too much angst. Season 2 Spike is the most fun to watch on TV, but in print, I like Spike the way he is here—snarky but mostly the fool for love.

The story continues in Parts 4-7 and Parts 8-12.

My Funny Valentine by Witling

A strange but interesting story. Xander disappears, and when the gang finds him, he’s several years older and has been heavily abused. Although Spike hasn’t the slightest interest in him, he ends up being stuck looking after Xander during the day.

This is one of those stories that’s more about the journey than the destination. I wasn’t overwhelmingly impressed by any one thing, but I enjoyed it immensely from start to finish. I particularly loved Spike’s after-school snacks for Dawn.

The Magic Number by Witling

Wow, it seems like such a long time since I’ve read any really good HP slash. And this story is awesome.

A plot by Voldemort’s forces leaves Harry without his magic, unable to defend himself from any attack. In an attempt to keep him safe, Dumbledore has him move into a London flat, with Snape as his only contact with the wizarding world.

I categorized this story as “humour”, even though it really isn’t, because I found Snape’s thoughts about Harry’s new neighbourhood hysterically funny.

Potter’s hallway resonated with the same rhythmic, primitive thumps he’d heard the week before. Perhaps it wasn’t music at all, but some sort of debased communication between the tenants. Snape stood outside the door and knocked.

There was a lengthy pause, during which he was able, to his chagrin, to make out a semblance of lyrics accompanying the din–an invitation to slump my hump, humpy hump, slump my dumpy hump, it seemed–and then, just as he was raising his hand to knock again, the door opened a crack. Potter stood behind it, eyeing him warily.

For the most part, though, the story is contemplative and a bit sad, but a wonderful read.

Sanctum Sanctorum by Witling

An episode tag for Suns and Lovers. With bondage. Better yet, reciprocal bondage.

Fair Exchange by Shan

(Link is to the first story in the series.)

This is one of my favourite Firefly fanfics. The whole cast is perfectly themselves. The plot goes AU sometime between Objects in Space and the Big Damn Movie. This story is a good example of how a few small changes can change everything, and it’s also total wish fulfilment for me, changing everything about Serenity that I didn’t love, and leaving all the parts I did. (Not that I would have preferred to see the movie happen this way, exactly, but I’m happy to see it explored in fic.) There are five stories in the series:

1. Two Gorram Days: while the others go off on a rescue mission, Jayne, laid up with a broken leg, is left to look after River. He finds this less difficult and more enjoyable than he expects.
   
2. Kinship: Simon and Inara become friends, River and Jayne get closer, and Mal is in a bad mood.
   
3. Bank Job: an alternate version of Serenity: Those Left Behind, featuring a girls’ afternoon in and the end of the Hands of Blue guys (Say what you like about Joss Whedon, the man can create some seriously creepy villains. Note to self: never watch Hush alone late at night ever again.)
   
4. Miranda: alternate version of the Big Damn Movie, with enough changes to keep you on the edge of your seat, even when you think you know what’s coming.
   
5. Prodigal: after Miranda, they all get to meet the family Jayne left behind many years earlier.

I don’t like Prodigal as much as the others, and there’s some squabbling at the end of Miranda that kind of annoys me (but much less than it would in another fandom, because Joss Whedon’s characters totally would intrude on each other’s private lives in just this way), but overall it’s an awesome series, set in a fandom that doesn’t have nearly enough fic. Dyce hits the characters’ voices perfectly, too.

Horseshoe Nails by Dyce

This goes AU after Season 3. Aeryn leaves Moya, and returns, but she’s a little fuzzy on what’s happened in the meantime. When they finally figure it out, she and John attempt to retrieve something from Grayza’s command carrier, with less-than-idea results.

I like this story, but I’m not sure I’d have bothered to recommend it if it weren’t for the awesome follow-up fics, all of which I liked better. Here are all the stories in the series:

• The Future or Something Like It by Officersun524
• Future’s End by Kernezelda
• Future Interruptus by Kernezelda
• Days of Future Past by Officersun524
• A Shared Future by Kernezelda

Future’s End recounts the beginning and end of John’s time with Grayza. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say that I like the original characters, especially the most important one, and I like getting to see a bit of Braca’s point of view and feelings about Crichton, something that will continue in the other stories.

Days of Future Past and A Shared Future are alternate versions of the same basic events, both set after John’s rescue from Grayza.

Future Interruptus is a companion to Future’s End, filling in the details of the time John was with Grayza, from her point of view. I suggest that this be read last, even though chronologically it takes place earlier, for a couple of reasons. The most important is that it’s simply a better story than any of the others, and I think the later stories suffer a bit in comparison. Unlike the others, Future Interruptus is a character piece; although it has a plot, the real focus is on Grayza and the relationship she (thinks she) has with John. Maybe it’s just me, but I’ll take a good character-driven story over an equally good plot-driven one any day, and as an exploration of Grayza’s character, Future Interruptus is more than good; it’s superb.

(I’ve come to have more of an appreciation for her since I watched Rebecca Riggs, the actress who plays her, talk about Mele-On Grayza in clips from the Season 4 DVD on Youtube.)

The Future or Something Like It by Officersun524 and Kernezelda

Silly, but hilarious. An(other) enemy of Mal’s comes up with a scheme to embarrass him and his crew.

In the Box by Dyce

This is a multi-part, in-progress AU spinoff from Unrealized Realities, exploring how John Crichton might have come to be a Peacekeeper Captain. Although it’s unfortunately not finished yet, the first two seasons (up until When the Chips are Down) are complete, and the latest update (The Devil You Know) was posted March 22, 2008, so it’s still being updated!

In Unrealized Peacekeeper, Tauvo Crais manages to avoid a collison with John’s module, so the escaping prisoners on Moya don’t bother to recapture John and Aeryn. Instead, John is put to work on wormhole tech by Captain Crais.

I love this story so much. The characterizations are wonderful, and so is the plot. It manages to be faithful to the big events of Farscape canon, while still telling its own story. If it’s ever complete, it may rival In the Company of Ghosts as my favourite Farscape story.

Unrealized Peacekeeper by OneEye

Well, I took the plunge and upgraded to WP 2.5. Everything went well, and this new version is pretty spiffy, with lots of improvements.

I took the opportunity to tweak the look of the site a bit, but most of the changes are technical rather than visual. I did make some improvements to the site’s feed, so at least in Google Reader it now works properly—you can see all the information about the story, and click straight through to read the story without having to visit the site. I’m not sure about other feed readers, though.

I also posted a few new recs (only five more in the to-be-rec’d folder waiting to be written up—hurrah!)

As always, if you notice anything that doesn’t work, or have any questions or comments about the site or the recs, leave a comment on any entry.

Happy reading!

After returning from a stressful mission where he was force-fed stimulants, Rodney has trouble sleeping. And then there’s yoga, caffeine withdrawal, glasses, housework, and egg sandwiches.

Ophthalmology by Pares

Those crazy Ancients with their ascension machines! This time, John touches an impotence machine, which puts a hold on his sex life but not on his relationship with Rodney.

Strange How Certain the Journey by Telesilla

(I can’t believe I’m still recommending stuff from last year’s McShep Match! I’ve really been getting behind.)

John and Rodney become trapped in a strange series of rooms while exploring Atlantis.

“Maybe this was a secret lab. I don’t think this kind of… research was sanctioned by the Ancients.”

Rooms by Velocitygrass

Sam and Vala and some pornographic etchings.

“Samantha Carter, I didn’t think you were that kind of girl.”

Girls on Film by Splash the Cat

I think my favourite thing about his is John’s thoughts about Carter.

Or maybe about Mitchell’s hair.

Five things John Sheppard envied Cam Mitchell by Splash the Cat

Something else I like about SG-1 is the relationship between Vala and Teal’c. They have good chemistry.

“I see why you like this one so much,” Vala says as Teal’c removes the DVD from the player and inserts “Empire.” “A band of rebels against the evil overlords, a man joining forces with unlikely allies to overcome great odds…”

Teal’c knows her childish antics hide a calculating mind, but he still does not expect her to see through him quite so easily. “I enjoy the space battles.”

Five movies Teal’c showed Vala when she joined the SGC by Splash the Cat

Daniel and his wife visit Atlantis. Is the Pegasus galaxy ready for Vala? Not hardly.

“I don’t know if I envy Jackson or feel sorry for him,” Baker said.

“She’s a heck of a woman, but a little too high maintenance for my tastes,” Lorne said.

Teyla paused. “Has Doctor Jackson arrived?”

“Jackson, Vala, and Imelda Marcos’ shoe collection.”

“Imelda Marcos had a lot of shoes,” Lorne explained, just in case Teyla had forgotten her ability to infer.

I really, really like stories from Teyla’s point of view, so of course I would like one the that shows her take on my favourite SG-1 character.

High Maintenance by Notadate

Set sometime before or during Beachhead. Vala’s a little miffed that she’s been “replaced” by Carter, but that doesn’t stop her from trying to get to know Sam better:

Vala interrupted her, “That’s very interesting, I’m sure, Colonel. But you sound like a guidebook. Why don’t you try personal things?”

“Like?” The colonel took another bite of her salad and chewed, blue eyes pinioning Vala.

“Well, are you a screamer?”

The colonel choked a bit, cheeks flushing.

Vala grinned, “Or is that a bit too personal?”

One of my favourite things about SG-1 was that they made Sam and Vala friends (apparently at the request of Amanda Tapping and Claudia Black). Two of my favourite scenes are the hug at the end of Roads Not Taken and the return from the shopping trip in Family Ties. That said, Vala’s attitude in this story is perfectly understandable, and very in-character.

Dancing to the Rites of Spring by ALC Punk

John and Rodney go on a vacation which doesn’t turn out quite as planned.

“Oh, shut up,” Rodney said, panting, when he climbed out after five laps and dropped back into his chair. “We don’t have much of a swimming season in Edmonton. I bet I could kick your ass ice skating.”

“Sure, and if that were a real sport instead of something teenage girls do, maybe I’d care,” John said, tipping the bag back for the last crumbs.

“A man who uses as much hair gel as you do should not be casting aspersions on teenage girls,” Rodney said. “You want to take a walk along the beach?”

“As long as you don’t ask me to hold hands,” John said.

Ordinary Life by Shalott and Speranza