(no subject)

So. My new job has entirely eaten my life. Or rather, the commute has—an hour and a half each way. Lately I'm stuck in that rut: you know, the feeling that you will never NOT be tired again? That's me. I can only hope I'll adjust, because the job itself is not bad, and I really don't want to be unemployed again.

Basically: I was looking for a job and then I found a job, and heaven knows I'm miserable now. (Again.)

But! When I haven't been on the bus or plugging away at my computer that's sadly right in my boss' line of sight (this sucks SO HARD), I have made time to read these phenomenal angst stories, and you should, too. I'm a little behind in telling you about them, but now you can have a mini marathon o'angst. At least here in L.A., it is excellent angst & ice cream weather.

First, Responsibility. Short and sharp, this story conveys more in one simple scene than I probably could with a half dozen of them. Rodney has a decision to make, jamming both him and John into the painful place between doing the responsible thing and doing what they want. Crisply characterized—I love the way the author has the discussion play out, the moment when Rodney says "Do you think I like the realization that you...that others, could talk me out of doing the right thing? What kind of person would that make me?"—this story is also achingly hot. I'm amazed at how much is packed into one short tale, and how powerful it is.

Do the pleasurable and the responsible thing: read Responsibility

Then there's Midnight Shakes the Memory. Now, if I were reccing this story to myself, I would only have to say one word: amnesia. I am an amnesia junkie; I will read almost anything with that plot. But this story is something else; this is the type of story that I only find every once in a while, after hours of clicking through anything marked with del.icio.us' "amnesia" tag: it's a really fantastic, in-character take on that most excellent of tropes, in which everyone's reactions seem real and authentic, and with a memory-less Sheppard who really works for me. There's also a subtle, clever twist to the story that I really admire, and the ending's killer. So:

Stop searching in vain—find what you're looking for with Midnight Shakes the Memory

On a Clear Day is another fascinating take on another fannish staple—hurt/comfort—but the author comes at things from an interesting new angle by having the hurt person stubbornly remove himself from where comfort might be administered. Luckily, the potential comforter is equally stubborn. What I love about this story is that, in a way, it's about John and Rodney and a clash of wills, one that's occurring because of how much they care about each other; and in the end, that connection ends up being the most stubborn of all. The author plays with the prompt of "the blind leading the blind" in all kinds of interesting ways, and definitely delivers the angst, but I feel the love between John and Rodney really strongly in this tale, and it makes me really happy.

Allow yourself to be led to On a Clear Day

More to come...

(no subject)

With an angsty yell: more, more, more!

The author of What I Tell You Three Times has John and Rodney down so well, writes them together with such confidence; it is so cool, then, to see her (it doesn't give anything away to suggest the author is female, does it? Oh, fandom) play devil's advocate with herself and not write them the happy ending most McKay/Sheppard readers and writers have come to consider par for the course. What she does instead, and the way she connects the really exciting action plot of this story with what's going on with John emotionally (poor John!), is much more brutal and real. I still like to think that things may one day work out, but I can also really see John needing a wake up call like this.

To play devil's advocate...you could not read What I Tell You Three Times...but who am I kidding? You really should!

You know how sometimes you read a story, and it has such a brilliant premise that you can't help but become slack-jawed and silent, thinking, "Oh, why didn't I think of that?" Down to Earth is one of those stories. The expedition loses their ATA genes, and more importantly, John does. This John, suddenly severed from his connection to Atlantis, just makes me ache; I love how the author refuses to pull any punches with her ending, and how she determinedly sees her brilliant premise through to the very finish.

Alter your mental DNA with Down to Earth

Okay, now this is a tough rec to write. Please imagine that, instead of reccing The Experiment (which I very heartily am) that I am trying to persuade you to watch The Sixth Sense. What could I say to convey to you how very awesome it is without giving away what makes it so awesome? This story is like that. Its basic premise is captivating enough, but what it builds to, the climax...that's what will blow you away, and that's what I can't say any more about, lest I ruin it. Which would be a worse tragedy than telling you that Bruce is dead. Because in this story, John and Rodney are very much alive, and yet nothing is what you think.

Twist it, twist it good with The Experiment

Gonna give y'all a chance to get through those before I move on to the very last story of the challenge, which is also one of my personal favorites...