sholio | A few story recs

... scraped together from my reading over the last week or two.

I just read this today while I ate dinner: The Dinosaur and the Dragon Lady. This isn't fanfic, but a free online novella, and it's really wonderful -- given the title and the fact that I'm reccing this to a bunch of sci-fi nerds *g*, I should point out that there are neither dinosaurs nor dragons in evidence, but it's a very sweet love story that started out like any rom-com ever made (staid, set-in-his-ways widower meets flamboyant, free-spirited, beautiful downstairs neighbor ... *snore*) and then went a direction I was totally not expecting it to go. And the characters are lovely. It made me cry, and I don't cry at fiction very often (though I seem to say that every time I do, and I seem to say it a lot, so maybe it's not as true as I think it is ...).

Heteronormativity, Gender Construction, and Nonverbal Signalling in Intercultural Communication: A Comedy by

mad_maudlin (PG-13; Mensa-verse; John/Teyla, Rod/Katie, and a pairing involving Keller that I'm not going to spoil because it's too, too funny if you, like Keller in the story, don't see it coming -- but it doesn't involve any universe's Rodney, FYI) - This story was hilarious and sweet and just all the way around awesome. John/Teyla isn't a pairing I normally go for, but I really went for it as depicted here (which, actually, made me figure out a lot of why it doesn't work for me normally), and

mad_maudlin has done a really wonderful job of incorporating all of the major and minor characters to offer a look at the Mensa AU Atlantis that is complex and believable (and funny).

Those Who Favor Fire by

anna_bird is a long, plotty, kinda creepy post-EatG story featuring Teyla and Keller. It manages to be both an action-type story and a complicated relationship story, with both women struggling to work out problems in their personal lives and with each other. Really neat; it doesn't offer any tidy endings, but rather, it's complicated and messy like real life is complicated and messy. Only, you know, with aliens. (Warning for death of a very minor character from the show.)

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I just read this today while I ate dinner: The Dinosaur and the Dragon Lady.

Wow - thanks for the rec (and a new site to check out). Btw, if it makes you feel better, I've only read chapter one, and I was tearing up before I even reached the end. So, yeah. Book marked. On my reading list for tomorrow.

I know! They're so happy and then, WHAM. It's very good. :D

Thanks for reccing mad maudlin's story - I nearly hurt myself laughing. :) To be honest I'd seen it around before, but had avoided it because of the John/Teyla pairing. But I know you're not a fan of the pairing either so I decided to give it a chance, and I'm glad I did. :) I agree that it works as depicted here. :)

*nods* It's not a pairing I normally read, but I'd seen it rec'd in a number of places and decided to give it a try. And it was awesome. :)

What I realized reading it is that John and Teyla's relationship in the story hits the same buttons of mine that Teyla and Rodney do in canon, which got me to thinking about the way the characters are presented ... I think the main thing about John/Teyla that doesn't do it for me is that, weirdly, they're too similar. More specifically, I think I go for fighter/nerd pairings a whole lot harder than for fighter/fighter pairings. The dynamic just works better for me that way.

John and Teyla's relationship in the story hits the same buttons of mine that Teyla and Rodney do in canon

Hee, yes, I was thinking as I read the story that..."hey this works, but....John's really a whole lot like Rodney here."

I think the main thing about John/Teyla that doesn't do it for me is that, weirdly, they're too similar.

Yes, this is definitely one of the main problems I have with the ship as well. It's maybe an odd opinion, but I've always thought that John and Teyla were very similar personality wise.

Yeah. I can see how that could actually be what makes it work for some people; it just doesn't for me. Looking over the couples I like, it seems like they are usually either a fighter-type and a noncombatant-type, or two nerdy types bonding over nerdy stuff. I'd never realized before reading that story.

I loved Mad Maudlin's stories. Thanks so much for the rec :D

You're welcome! I'm very glad you enjoyed it. :) I enjoy Mad Maudlin's stories in general, but I hadn't read this one for a long while.

Oh, I loved "Those Who Favor Fire"! I totally agree with your rec. :)

Isn't it wonderful? And she has so few comments, which is a real shame! I'm trying to figure out if it's gen enough to rec on stargategenrec; *I* think so, but it does deal quite a bit with the girls' relationships, so I'm not sure.

It was also very nice to see a Jennifer/Rodney breakup from the Jennifer side; that's really rare.

I confess to not quite getting the line of demarcation between gen and not-gen. When it slips into a not very obvious territory, I mean. Because both women are dealing with canon relationships and those relationships are kept fairly background (imo, anyway). The important relationship was the not-romantic one between the two of them. Which to my mind qualifies it as gen, because if someone were looking for romance they'd be disappointed.

(Of course, therein lies the source of my inability, I think. Because I enjoy romance it's easy for me to see when it's not center stage. But I have a harder time telling if a story is friendly to people who would prefer no romance at all. If that makes sense.)

It would be nice to see this story get more exposure, though. I fear it's slipped through fandom's cracks.

Ohh, thanks for these recs, these sound really good!

Thanks! I think you'll enjoy the last one especially, but they're all good. :)

I read Heteronormativity and it was a hoot. Now I'm a couple of page into Those Who Favor Fire and I already love how the story is developing. I almost want to read it slowly so it lasts longer.

A few story recs

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