Fanfic Recommendation Challenge

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: (Untitled)
Author: Chelle, aka mmmchelle
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 48. Reccer's Choice.
Rating: PG.
Length: short (823 words)
Brief summary: We see John through the eyes of several shrewd observers, and then Rodney through John's eyes; everything is revealing.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: (Untitled)

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: The Things Which Are Caesar's
Author: Wintertime
Characters: John Sheppard.
Prompt: 49. Reccer's Choice.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: medium (2,443 words)
Brief summary: Five gods John Sheppard never worshipped. The premise is intriguing, but it's the execution that's amazing. There's humor in this, and action, but mostly this is creepy, in subtle and intricate ways. Watch out especially for the last one, the last line, that's so casual and yet means so many things.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Things Which Are Caesar's

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Long Way to Fall
Author: sprat
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 40. Confession
Rating: PG.
Length: medium (4,373 words)
Brief summary: John has a near-death experience that convinces him that life is short and secrets are a waste of time—so he decides not to keep any anymore. The adrenaline wears off and he has to sober up eventually, but people adjust and it all works out.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Long Way to Fall

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Night Off
Author: Caro, aka barely_bean
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 42. Holiday.
Rating: R.
Length: medium (3,425 words)
Brief summary: For John, Halloween is the one night he can actually be himself (though there is a bonus Halloween costume at the end).
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Night Off

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Balance
Author: cupidsbow
Characters: John Sheppard.
Prompt: 21. Epiphany.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: medium (1,026 words)
Brief summary: Why John flew toward a Wraith hive ship with nothing but a nuclear bomb for company.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Balance

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Things You Never Did
Author: godofwine
Characters: John Sheppard, ensemble.
Prompt: 24. Future Fic.
Rating: PG.
Length: medium (2,017 words)
Brief summary: About the things John never did, yes, but also about the things he did—and most of all about what happens to the people in his life and the world he lived in after he dies.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Things You Never Did

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: The Reverse of Fascination
Author: shrift
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 34. Vacation.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: medium (4,870 words)
Brief summary: Yes, John went on an eighteen-day space cruise and didn't bring any form of recreation whatsover. Yes, he's bored out of his mind. Yes, he forces Rodney to entertain him.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: The Reverse of Fascination

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Regression
Author: lamardeuse
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 37. Make-up.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: medium (2,196 words)
Brief summary: Takes place around Duet. Rodney was the one to end it, and here John watches Rodney court, date, crash, and burn—and then come back to him for all the right reasons. (Note: This story is one installment in a series, but it stands on its own.)
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Regression

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Aftershocks
Author: Shalott, aka astolat
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 9. Hurt/Comfort.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: medium (2,840 words)
Brief summary: Post-The Storm/The Eye. Coming down from terror, torture, and flashbacks with a hot shower and human contact.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Aftershocks

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Coping Mechanisms
Author: amireal
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 43. Denial.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: epic (23,771 words)
Brief summary: The story starts with Rodney being seriously injured: there's blood, there's morphine, and in the middle of the chaos and the screaming pain, there's the discovery—or the acknowledgement—of what there is (or could be) between them. In the aftermath John tries to put it behind them, but Rodney's never practiced this level of denial before, and John keeps sending out mixed signals. Includes bonus Genii cameos and recurring hostage situations!
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Coping Mechanisms

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Coming Soon to a Galaxy Near You!
Author: trinityofone
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 12. Humor.
Rating: R.
Length: medium (4,170 words)
Brief summary: A Starbucks sprouted up overnight. In the city of Atlantis. John has an acute paranoia attack while everyone else rejoices and orders frothy caffeinated beverages.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Coming Soon to a Galaxy Near You!

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Looking Glass
Author: Shalott, aka astolat
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 15. Crackfic.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: medium (2,775 words)
Brief summary: In which John Sheppard finally realizes the Pegasus Galaxy is absolutely, collectively insane, but comes to the simultaenous conclusion that he is part of that insanity, and that it's awesome. (Plus aliens make them have sex!)
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Looking Glass

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Walk Out of the World
Author: Martha Wilson, aka ltlj
Characters: John Sheppard, River Tam (Firefly).
Prompt: 33. Crossover.
Rating: PG.
Length: medium (3,232 words)
Brief summary: I love this story for the possibilities of it, for the blending of two incredibly rich and fascinating worlds that creates an even more intriguing universe. The story is told from River's point of view and it's distinctly her voice and her head: the atmosphere is dark and still, whispery and deliberate, like weightless footsteps that know exactly where they're going. Everyone shines, everyone is utterly themselves, and John here is only one of the others, but River sees into his head, into the city in his head, and she knows him—and so does the author.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Walk Out of the World

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Bondsman
Author: casspeach
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 10. Fandom Cliche.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: long (6,883 words)
Brief summary: In this fandom, aliens make them have sex all the time. This particular story also happens to have a bonus throwaway suggestion of that other fandom standby, slavery, but the focus is on the sex that the Bithynians force them to have. It's not fun and it's not sexy—for someone as private as John is, it's nightmarish—but he and Rodney get each other through it, and through the aftermath as well.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Bondsman

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Hindsight
Author: rageprufrock
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 2. AU
Rating: R.
Length: epic (24,150 words)
Brief summary: This is the kind of AU that changes one thing, just one small, maybe trivial thing, and then allows the universe to unfold accordingly. The Rodney here is a little shrill, but John is John: wanting the same things, believing the same things, working for the same things—or at least doing his damnedest in trying.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Hindsight

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Animal Husbandry
Author: casspeach
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay, Lorne, Cadman, Elizabeth Weir.
Prompt: 41. Redemption.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: epic (28,280 words)
Brief summary: John's a cowboy and Rodney's the new vet in town. This John is defined by his fierce independence, which in turn is motivated by his determination never to turn into his father. Money issues, intimacy issues, rodeo riding, pride swallowing, and growing up.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Animal Husbandry

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Call Soft Enough
Author: Torch, aka flambeau
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 5. Sex.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: medium (1,630 words)
Brief summary: Torch will be your fic provider this evening: would you like some internal character development with your PWP?
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Call Soft Enough

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Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Warning
Author: Resonant, aka resonant8
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 25. Kink.
Rating: NC-17.
Length: medium (2,580 words)
Brief summary: Yes, okay, if these recs are united by a theme, that theme is "Rodney coaxes John to a sexual epiphany and then they have hot sex, the end." That's exactly what happens here, but it's so warm and funny at the same time.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Warning

My rec table.

Claim: Stargate: Atlantis - John Sheppard
Title: Opposition of the Stars
Author: kageygirl
Characters: John Sheppard, Rodney McKay.
Prompt: 22. UST.
Rating: PG-13.
Length: medium (2,680 words)
Brief summary: There are legitimate, institutional factors keeping McKay and Sheppard from having a relationship—an intimate relationship—not the least of which is the U.S. Military Code. It's fantastic to see the characters not only acknowledge those restrictions, but submit to them. For John to say, "this is a rule I cannot break," while we can see and hear and *feel* how much they want it, is the absolute best, most wistful UST.
( Excerpt )
Link to the story: Opposition of the Stars