Welcome Mat

Fandom: due South
Characters/Pairings: Benton Fraser/Ray Kowalski, Diefenbaker, Victoria Metcalfe, original characters
Rating: Explicit
Length: 19,093
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings
Creator Links: thehoyden on AO3, luzula on the Audiofic Archive
Themes: Uncommon settings, Friends to lovers, First time, Working together, Complete AU: academia

Summary: "What the hell is this, an Austen novel?"

Reccer's Notes: Complete AUs are unusual in due South, and this is that rarity, a dS AU set in academia. Fraser is a new professor, looked down on by his colleagues as he's from the University of Guelph, and only Ray Kowalski, a punky, nonconformist professor, befriends him. They both have offices on the unpopular top floor (Fraser as he's bottom of the pecking order, and Ray as he likes to get away from the rest of the department), which helps kickstart their friendship. The story is about the highs and lows of academic life and there are some great sections showing Ray's unconventional teaching style which the students love, and Fraser's more traditional, but solid, approach. There's academic politics and also drama with the return of Victoria, Fraser's ex and his academic rival. It's about character development, and about Fraser and Ray's friendship which blossoms gradually into much, much more. The fic's beautifully written, and an extremely good read - highly recommended.

Fanwork Links: Academic Punk on AO3, and the excellent podfic by luzula is here

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay
Rating: Gen
Length: 1133 & 700
Content Notes: No AO3 warnings apply. There are explicit details about a normal full-term delivery in Plus Ça Change.
Creator Links: toomuchplor on AO3
Themes: Uncommon settings, Friends to lovers, Complete AU: hospital, Humor

Summaries: Technically he *wasn’t* Dr. Sheppard, not for another two months, but it was standard for medical students to introduce themselves that way. It reassured the patients. It didn’t do anything for John’s sense of inner calm.

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“Unh,” said McKay, and folded his arms under his face before flopping down again. The position pulled the sleeves of his scrubs top taut around his biceps. “If I hide here it’s harder for the interns to find me.”

Reccer's Notes: For a fandom rich in AUs, there are very few medical AUs in SGA. This is an excellent two-part series and I recommend reading it in reverse series order, as the second part is a prequel. In Plus Ça Change, John blunders into an unexpected ER situation as a 4th year medical student doing an ambulance ride-along, and meets Rodney, a medical resident. The other story, Living Will, is set 3 years later by which time they know each other well and John's an ER resident, Rodney now being chief medical resident. The stories are funny, with great characterisation and snark, and accurate medical details. Very much recommended!

Fanwork Links: Plus Ça Change, and Living Will

Fandom: Stargate Atlantis
Characters/Pairings: John Sheppard/Rodney McKay, Radek Zelenka, Elizabeth Weir, Ronon Dex, Teyla Emmagan, Carson Beckett, Evan Lorne, Aiden Ford, Bates, Laura Cadman, Jack O'Neill, Harry Maybourne, Jeannie Miller, Original Non-Human Characters, Imaginary Creatures from Story and Song, Atlantis.
Rating: Mature
Length: 30,758
Content Notes: no AO3 warnings apply. The author warns for kidnapping and children in peril. "They aren't injured, and they are rescued. One of their kidnappers is kidnapped in the process and then returned to her friends." There's also a warning for passages with creepy clowns - see the endnote.
Creator Links: esteefee on AO3
Themes: Uncommon settings, Worldbuilding, AU: apocalypse/dystopia, AU: fantasy/magic, Friends to lovers, First time, Humor, Action/adventure

Summary: Major John Sheppard was starving, delirious, chased by monsters to the edge of the world, when he raised the City from the sea.

Ten years later, Dr. Rodney McKay comes to the peaceful City, bringing war in his back pocket.

Reccer's Notes:
This fits the "unusual settings" category as the world depicted in this fic is extremely strange, surreal, and quirky. I've reccd it before but in a different category, and it's a story that's well worth re-reading. Despite the tags for fantasy and dystopia, it isn't traditional fantasy/magic at all, and it mostly isn't a straightforward dystopia. Yes, it's post-apocalyptic and the rest of the world's very dystopic, but Atlantis herself is a solarpunk refuge in the chaos. The story is set after the detonation of a quantum unreality bomb which plunged Earth into fantastical chaos where very few laws apply consistently - certainly not those of physics, or normality. Weird monsters, fantasy creatures, and dangerous improbabilities now abound, although much reduced in Atlantis. The worldbuilding's terrific, and woven into this new world is a story where John and Rodney meet and become friends, and more. There's also plenty of plot, including a daring rescue. It's an excellent read, and highly recommended!

Fanwork Links: When the City Wakes