my recs from the atlantisbasics ficathon

[kaizoku]

I've been reading stories from the atlantisbasics ficathon all day -- I think I've gotten through about 3/4 of them. This is perhaps a bit late - the challenge closed last week but I swore not to read anything until I'd finished my story.



I actually didn't expect everything to be so *good* - the stories blew me away. These are just my top picks so far - I've enjoyed everything I read and it was damn hard to whittle it down. The entire listing can be found here. Many thanks go to thepouncer and akire_yta for being gracious hosts of the party, and writing lovely ficlets for people who didn't get their stories the day of the deadline.

Sky from Sea by packmentality, G, Gen, ~2000 words, spoilers through Runner.
This is a short one, but very compelling with vivid imagery. The point of view is Lorne's and it's got that dry humor and slight sense of "keeping my mouth shut about this" that fits well with what we've seen of him on the show. It's got some fun twists, as well.

The Pegasus Galaxy’s Greatest Hits by rustler. PG, Gen, ~2000 words, spoilers through Inferno.
This story takes you on a little journey. Actually, the first line from Rodney had me going "Oh my God, he did not just say that" -- which is sometimes what I think when I'm watching Rodney on the show. ;-) Anyway, it's just quotidien Atlantis but the voices are spot-on.

Two of the stories from the ficathon focus on Ronon's backstory and I enjoyed them both:
Stand Back Up by ga_unicorn, PG-13, Gen, ~5700 wd, is Ronon's story as he transcribes it for Beckett and Heightmeyer. It builds in a powerful way, and Ronon's realization at the end is almost a shock. (I don't know if that describes it well - it was more my visceral reaction.)

The second Ronon fic is A History of Knives by Anna (niannahfic), PG-13, Gen/preslash if you squint, ~2300 words, and has spoilers for Trinity. This is backstory mixed with a trip in the present to Sateda and it deals with responsibility and forgiveness in incredible ways. It's just gorgeous. It hurts in all the right ways.

Strength and honor are her clothing by kajikia. R, gen, ~5500 words, spoilers through Duet.
This fic kicks ass and takes names. The request was for "the female characters in any combination going off and having an adventure together" and this story fits the bill. There's multiple well-developed characters, a great plot, and an absolutely beautiful resolution. And more knives! And... yeah. I am in awe. Also, this wins the prize for story I would most like to see made into an episode.

Synaesthesia by alyse. PG-13, Gen/pre-threesome, spoilers through Conversion, 11,200 words.
This is another journey story, starting from John recovering in the infirmary. And it's a threesome fic (John/Rodney/Teyla) - woohoo! The level of detail in this story is amazing. John's looking for every clue he can get to figure out how people are reacting to him, while simultaneously trying not to give off too many clues himself. The emotional needs of the characters really drive the plot, so the talking scenes don't come off as pointless drama. In addition to the "threesome" interactions, there's a wonderful scene with Ronon and John that just made me all warm and happy.